The Family Business
by X-Lisa-Anne-X
Summary: Katherine Winchester was the eldest; the father's daughter. When her father goes missing, there's only one person she'd want helping her to find him. Her little brother Sam. They've had their ups and downs; secrets are kept and told – but in this Family business, all they really have was each other and sometimes that's all they needed.
1. Prologue

**Now, this story is basically having Dean as a girl. Sam will have an older sister instead of an older brother – I've always figured that older sisters are more protective and everything. I mean, I am … that's probably why I have that conclusion.**

 **I know, I know. This is yet another new story – I just couldn't resist and I'm just too happy about accepting the college offer I got. It was even for the college I wanted! So happy! Anyway, here we are…**

 **Summary: Katherine Winchester was the eldest; the father's daughter. When her father goes missing, there's only one person she'd want helping her to find him. Her little brother Sam. They've had their ups and downs; secrets are kept and told – but in this Family business, all they really had was each other and that's all they needed.**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Prologue**

… _ **22 Years Ago…**_

 _Mary Winchester strolled into a small room at the end of the hall, carrying a five year old girl with dark hair held in a small pony tail – Katherine Winchester. She shifted the younger girl on her hip, passing through the doorway with a soft smile on her lips. "Let's go and say goodnight to your little brother." Her hand moved over to the light switch on the wall, flicking it on. Lying in the small mahogany cot was a small baby boy with little tuffs of dark blonde hair. He was no older than a year old._

 _Mary lowered Katherine to her feet, the younger girl wearing a sleeping gown and a happy smile on her face. She always loved seeing her little brother before he went to sleep; not that she knew it then, but the feeling of protectiveness for this little being was already weaved into her veins. Katherine jumped out of her mother's arm, heading straight over to the side of the cot and leant over. Little Sam gurgled happily, his small eyes lighting up at the sight of his mother and older sister in his room again._

" _Goodnight Sammy!" Katherine said, plopping a small kiss on the baby's forehead like her mother and father did to her every night._

 _Mary bent down beside her daughter, copying the motion – rubbing a soft stroke against her son's head as he fussed. "Goodnight, hun."_

 _Suddenly, behind them John Winchester walked into the room. "Hey, Kathy." He grinned, announcing his presence to his two best girls and son._

 _Katherine's eye lit up immediately, hearing her father's voice. She spun round on her feet, her small nightdress flowing at the motion. "Daddy!" She exclaimed, running into her father's arms – flinging them around his neck as he picked her up._

 _John chuckled, glancing between his son and daughter. "What do you think, Kathy?" He questioned, "Think Sam's able to kick around that football yet?"_

 _Katherine shook her head, like the idea was silly, "Of course not daddy," She always seemed a lot smarter than her age – John knew it came from her mother. "He's too small still."_

 _Mary smiled at the two, she reached out to touch her daughters back while slowly leaving the room, "Do you have her?" She asked, feeling the tiredness of the day creep up on her. John always seemed to have the more energy these days._

 _John gave her a small nod and a comforting look that said 'Have a good night sleep', "I have her." He assured her. Mary left the room, and before the two followed John gave one last look to Sam, "Sweet dreams Sam." He felt Katherine slowly snuggle into his neck, her breathing beginning to shallow. He could tell she was slipping into bedtime before she even reached her bed._

 _John flicked the lights off and left the room, putting his oldest daughter to bed before joining the TV downstairs to work off some of this pent-up energy._

…

 _Several hours later, near midnight – an awakening baby gurgle woke up Mary up from her slumber. She groaned tiredly, "John." She murmured, feeling her brain start to awaken again. Maybe John could check on Sammy for her tonight?_

 _She turned over on her side, looking over to her husband's part of the bed – only to find him missing. She frowned, 'where is he?' she idly wondered before slowing getting out of bed, knowing she would have to go now. John must be downstairs watching the television still._

 _Padding down the hallway, she came up to her son's room. She looked inside to find a dark figure in the room – 'it must be John' she thought. "Hun, is he hungry?" She wiped her fingers over her eyes, figuring it was John. He must have been coming to bed just as Sam started to awaken._

 _The figure turned to her slightly, "Shh." He sounded over his shoulder, trying to get her to be quiet like a sound would wake the baby up again._

" _Alright." She nodded, realising her husband was able to handle their little boy tonight. A thirst for water crept up in her throat, her mind making the conscious decision to go downstairs to get a drink. As she approached the top of the stairs, the lightbulb from one of the lights began to flicker. A frown morphed suspiciously on her lips. Slowly moving over to it, she tapped her nails against the glass plating – the light was old, it wouldn't surprise her if it had come off a little loosely. The night stopped flickering, making Mary's shoulders slump in – relief?_

 _Little sounds began to echo from downstairs … Mary's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. John would have turned off the television set before he came upstairs, why was it still on?_

 _Her eyes widened in horror as she reached half-way down the set of stairs, able to see the complete living room from that view. She saw her husband lying on the sofa, the television still playing in front of him. If John was still downstairs - who was that in her son's room?_

 _Not even a second later, she rushed upstairs again – running full speed towards her little boy's room._

 _Five seconds after she entered Sam's room – Mary's scream filled every room in the house … awakening John and her daughter._

…

 _Katherine had jolted from her sleep, hearing her mother's scream. She slowly walked out of her bedroom in a sleepy toddle, she noticed a bright flickering light coming from inside her little brother's room. A gust of heat rushed over her body and her father was yelling something … was he yelling for mom?_

 _Her father rushed out of the bedroom, carrying Sam in his arms with the blue blanket around him slowly falling off to show his skin. "Daddy?" As soon as he heard her, he rushed over and quickly placed the baby in her arms. Her eyes flickered over to the doorway of her brother's room every couple of seconds in fear – something had happened, something her young mind couldn't fully comprehend at this moment in time._

 _John bent down to her height, his knees hitting the ground. Flames were starting to crawl out of the doorway making Katherine's little eyes widen at the sight. "Take your brother outside as fast as you can … and don't look back." He told her._

" _But…" She started to protest, instinctively wrapping her arms more securely around her brother with protectiveness. She didn't want to leave her dad alone … and where was mom?_

" _Now Kathy, go!" He repeated, a little more forcefully this time. He didn't want his children in the house, he had a gut feeling their home was going to the ground._

 _Katherine's stature shook a little at the raised voice, her father had never raised his voice to her like this. "O-Okay." She stuttered, backing up a couple of steps before twisting around towards the stairs – making a run for it but making sure Sam wasn't being jiggled too much. 'He was the first priority' she embedded this into her mind._

 _John rushed back inside the bedroom the moment his son and daughter were out of sight; Mary combusted into more heated flames – her entire body eaten up by the furious amounts of it. "Mary!" He screamed in hopelessness, the tears of what was happening rolled down the side of his cheeks. All he could do was run from the blaze in an effort to stay alive for his kids; the vision scarred into his head for the rest of his life. He knew from that moment; nothing was ever going to be the same again._


	2. Pilot - Part 1

**Polyvore will hold all of Katherine's clothes during the fanfic - clothing name for this episode 'katherine winchester - pilot'.**

 _ **Note: In some places it may say Katherine hasn't seen her brother in two years - ignore this - it's actually four years!**_

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Pilot – Part 1**

It was night in Stanford, California. Near midnight in fact when Katherine arrived at Sam's current residence while he stayed in school. Stanford University. It's been four years since she's seen her little brother; four years ago he left the 'Family Business' to her and dad. He went away to create an alternate future for himself – inside, Katherine was proud of him for getting that full-scholarship and for getting the best scores in the state. But sometimes, it just hurt. It hurt to know that he would rather be away from the family; that he would rather live the 'apple-pie' life and not think about her and dad. She got it; if she had the chance, she probably would have done the same thing - but that was an opportunity that would never come. She was too embedded into her father's current lifestyle – hunting demons and killing the bastards.

Now she stood in the middle of an apartment; the lights were off but the outside street lamps shone through the curtains just enough so you could see. It was a pretty cozy place by the looks of it; it was something everyone would want in an apartment. Obviously it's a rented apartment though, the walls weren't painted a nice colour – just the plain, dull tone most people use when they try to sell a house.

Katherine crossed her arms over her chest, slowly making her way over to the small kitchen inlet. She wore dark blue jeans with various small to medium cuts throughout and a black tank top was worn under her favourite jacket – it was black with a zip going from hip to shoulder. She wore her favourite foots too, they were great for running in and they had a slight heel at the bottom – as for her dark hair, it was braided from her head down to just above her breast. It's been a while since it's been cut, but this was the hairstyle she used most often these days – with killing demons for a living, you can't really take much stock into looking good. Unless your bait of course then you have to be enticing to the predator…

She was going to wait for a couple of minutes before going to wake her brother up, but a small noise from behind halted her in her spot – someone was behind her, about to attack. Out of instinct, she grabbed the person's arm just as it was about to strangle her, she twisted it and pushed the assailant away towards the living room.

A glimmer of light shone on the person's face; Katherine grinned when she saw it was Sam – he looked older, his hair shaggier than when he left. She wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't been cut over the last two years. 'Now it's on' she thought, continuing to fight, wondering if he had been keeping up with his training while being gone.

The fight ended by Katherine who blocked his punch, grabbing his arm once again before throwing him to the floor with a thump – she placed her arm tight down over his chest to keep him on the floor, making sure he couldn't make an attack back. "Hey, Sammy." She smiled, her face being lightened this time by the light. A few stray hairs were out of the braid now, it wasn't tight enough by the looks of it. She would have to sort that out later.

Sam was breathing heavier than before, it's been a while since he's had to fight like that. "Kathy?" He gasped in shock, blinking away to figure out if he was hallucinating. He never thought his sister would come here, they hadn't exactly been close for a while now. He idly wondered what the reason was for her ambush because if she was here for a good reason, she would have knocked on the door the next morning like any other person normally would. But then, his family wasn't exactly normal. "You scared the crap out of me." Narrowing his eyes in accusation.

Katherine just raised an eyebrow, "Maybe it's because you're out of practice?" She suggested, "Surely you would have been able to take me down if you kept up in your training."

Sam let out a scoff, taking advantage of her momentary loosened grip. He quickly moved her arm away from him, grabbing her shoulder before pushing her body off him – he used his knee to shift her weight off the scale and slammed _her_ down on the floor this time. He secured his legs around her body, trapping her arms and body still so she couldn't move anything other than her legs – legs that couldn't even reach him to fight back.

Kathy let out a grunt, her head smacking against the floor, "Okay – oww." She groaned with a small chuckle of pain, maybe she was wrong after all about his training? "I was wrong, now get off me please." Patting his leg with the very little movement she had left in her right hand.

Sam couldn't help but let a small smile cover his lips, he really did miss his sister now that he's seen her – more than he realised in fact. He unlocked his legs, letting her breathe. As he stood, he grabbed Kathy's hand and pulled her up with him. She looked the same; maybe a little older and more tired but she looked like the same Kathy he left two years ago. Guilt started to slip into his gut when he thought about that day; she had done everything for him and what did he give her in return? Leaving her with dad to hunt monsters? "Kathy, what the hell are you doing here?" He asked as they finally got up off the floor, curious as to why his sister had sneaked into his apartment in the middle of the night. And without dad.

"Well," Katherine started, brushing down her clothes and tidying herself up after the squabble they just had. "The first thing I was going to do was get a beer." She said honestly, unfortunately she had gained the habit of drinking – not often enough to be classed a drunk, but she still had just enough to keep the demons inside of her away.

Sam slipped into seriousness, "What the hell are you doing here, Kathy?" He asked again.

"Okay, all right." Katherine finally sighed, looking up to him – the tired look he saw earlier becoming more pronounced. But there was a hint of something else – fear? "We have to talk."

Sam didn't look impressed, it couldn't just be that, "Uh, the phone?" He countered back. Not once had she called him; part of him felt like it was payback for leaving her with dad but in all honesty, he could have called her too. Although, she and dad change they're phone numbers every couple of months so there really was no way to contact either of them.

"If I did call-" Katherine began, cocking an eyebrow and tilting her head curiously, "-would you have actually picked up?" He stayed silent, making her shoulders slump in slight hurt. She shrugged it off, there was nothing that could be done about it now – right now there was a more important issue.

Suddenly the living room light switched on; making Sam and Katherine jolt slightly and turn to the light switch. Standing there in the doorway was a female with long wavy blonde hair, she had a skinny figure and her complexion was slightly pale. She wore a curiousness on her face but her eyes darted between Katherine and Sam with a little suspicion.

"Jess." Sam blinked seeing her standing there, she must have woken up by his and Katherine's combat, "Hey." He looked over to his sister – the sister who currently stared at Jessica looking a little shocked. "Kathy, this is Jess. My girlfriend."

"Wait," Jess blurted, looking at Katherine differently now – more relieved and happy, "Your sister, Katherine?" She smiled. Ever since she and Sam first started dating, she had been wanting to know more about his family, even meet them – but he's always said they weren't too close anymore since he left for school. But she could tell by the way he spoke about his sister, he idolized her in some manner.

Katherine gave a small nod, slowly. "Yeah, that's me." It felt a little uncomfortable being in a room with her – for one, Sam had never actually had a girlfriend in his life so it's a bit of a shock. But there's also the fact that her clothing was very – showing. "The smurfs are cool." She said randomly, hoping that the girl would take the hint to go away while she could talk to Sam … alone.

Jess finally realised when she looked down at her attire what she was wearing in front of her boyfriend's sister; she cleared her throat suddenly, "I should probably go and put something better on." Glancing between the siblings.

Katherine slipped her hands inside her jacket pocket, "Alright – well, it was nice meeting you." She nodded, before gesturing over to Sam with meaning, "I'll have to borrow your boyfriend for a bit – talk about some important family business."

Jess was about to turn but Sam stopped her, "No." He said, seeing the sad look on his girlfriend's face – he knew she had wanted to meet his sister, the one who practically raised him after they're mother had died in that fire. They're father did take care of them to a degree but it was Katherine who really looked after him and herself; John was gone most of the time to hunt or find other cases they could work on so they never really saw him much. He walked over to Jess and slipped his arm around her waist. "Whatever you need to say, you can say it in front of her."

Katherine just stared at him for a moment, thinking. "Okay." She shrugged, turning to the both of them, taking out hands from her pockets before crossing her arms. "Um," She didn't want to mention anything about they're true hunting secret; it was a secret for a reason. And judging by the fact that Jess didn't look too frightened when she flicked that light on – she didn't know about what come out in the dark. "Dad hasn't been home in a few days." She tried to emphasize on the words – as if trying to get Sam to realise this was too big for his girlfriend to hear.

Sam didn't seem too concerned, "So he's working overtime on a Miller-time shift." He didn't get why she was still here – even if it was about dad, he comes back from a hunt every time. "He'll stumble back sooner or later."

Kathy's eyes flickered over to Jess who still stood in his arms, "Dads on a _hunting_ trip." Trying to get her brother to realise that this was bigger than what he thought, "And he hasn't been home in a few days."

Sam finally frowned, realising what his sister was trying to say. Katherine seemed to realise the ' _secret_ '; hasn't been told to Jessica yet – he would never tell her anyway, he didn't want her to have to bear that dreadful weight on her shoulders. There was a moment of silence before Sam finally spoke, "Jess, excuse us." He kept his head still turned towards his sister. This situation must be big; enough to send Katherine all the way out here, they're father must really be in trouble. "We have to go outside."

Katherine started to look relieved … he finally got it. As much as part of her really didn't want to bother him in his new and monster-free life, she needed his help to find dad and to escape this loneliness that accumulated since he departure.

…

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd have a girlfriend." Katherine stated as she and Sam continued to walk down the stairway of the apartment building. Sam was trailing behind her feeling a little pissed; had she really expected him to drop everything and go on the road to find dad?

"Come on," Sam countered, shaking his head trying to get back to the real issue at hand, "You can't just break in, middle of the night and just expect me to hit the road. And don't lie; that was your plan as soon as you got here."

Katherine sighed a little bit, it was _slightly_ true. She would be happier if Sam were to come back on the road with her; lately dad hadn't been working on cases with her anymore – it was just her and her alone. She felt the need for someone's help, someone who can help keep her grounded and the best person for the job was Sam. "Sam, are you not listening." She glanced back to her brother as they continued down another flight of stairs, ignoring the comment he made for now, "Dad is missing. As in non-reachable for over a week. I need your help."

"You remember the Poltergeist in Amherst?" Sam didn't stop, he didn't really see the reason as to why his sister needed him. He could tell she was lonely just by looking into her eyes; he saw the joy in them the moment she saw him – but if she was so lonely and needing of someone's company, why doesn't she just quit hunting like he did and live a safe normal life? "Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then." He paused, trying to tell her that maybe he just wanted to hunt alone a little longer this time – it's happened before. "He's always missing, always fine."

"Not for this long." Katherine finally stopped when it came to the ground floor, she spun herself around so she was face to face with her brother. Why couldn't he see that maybe something else has happened? A little anger boiled up in her gut; she was never the person so get _really_ angry, especially at her brother – but the way he was talking, he was making it sound like they're father just didn't want to come back. She knew him better than Sam did; she's been with their father longer than Sam. HE was the one who left them to live the apple-pie life in the first place. He just didn't seem to get it! "So, are you coming with me or are you not?"

Sam shook his head, still standing a couple of steps higher from the ground, "I'm not."

Katherine looked at him in disbelief, "What? Why not?"

Sam took a deep breath, "I swore I was done hunting." He told her with finality, "For good."

She scoffed at the ridiculous statement, "Oh, come on." She turned around, beginning to walk out of the building again, "I know hunting isn't easy but it's not that bad."

"Yeah?" Sam scoffed in redundancy to that. He suddenly remembered back to a moment of his childhood, the day when he knew his father wasn't going to be the best when it came to comfort from the dark – it was the day he started to look up to Katherine a little more. "When I told dad I was scared of the thing in my closet … he gave me a .45." That was the first gun he had ever held in his hands, the day he internally knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the hunting life.

Katherine didn't understand; a gun was her safety net – it should be the same for all hunters alike, "What's your point?"

"I was _nine_ years old!" He emphasized on the age.

She got what he was trying to say, "And I was six Sam when I held my first gun; if anyone's got the right to whine it would be me."

"Then it's the same thing." Sam continued trying to get her on his side of the argument, "He should have said 'Don't be afraid of the dark' or comfort us in some way so we weren't scarred for life – not give us a gun!" He voice was louder; he knew his sister was a 'father's daughter' but sometimes he felt like that went a little far.

Katherine gave him a dumb look, "Don't be afraid of the dark?!" She repeated. Why would dad say that to anyone; there are monsters in the dark! "You should be afraid of the dark, Sam! You know what's out there."

"Yeah, I know." Sam couldn't deny that; there were hundreds of things in the dark, not that he ever wanted to know about them in the first place, "But the way we grew up; the way you had to look after me like a mother after mom was killed…" Kathy's jaw clenched at the mention of their mother, "…and dad's obsession to find what killed her." She looked away, even though she had been on many cases with or without her father – the thing that killed they're mother was always on the first list to be killed. The need to find and kill it still bubbled in her veins just like it did for her father – for Sam however, he just doesn't seem to care as much as them. And that's what pissed her off the most when the subject is mentioned. "We still haven't even found the thing; or even what it looks like."

"So, what do we do?" He made his voice sarcastic for a moment, "We kill everything we can find."

Kathy butted in, "And we save a lot of people in the process." As a family, they've probably saved hundreds of lives – even more than that. It was one of the things that kept her going in this life.

Everything was silent for a moment; Sam seemed to be coming up with something else in his head. Katherine could see that he wanted to try and get her to realise something – why he quit maybe? Possibly it's just the fact that he wanted what was best for his sister after everything's she's done for both him and others.

"You think mom would have wanted this for us?" He asked her hypothetically. He was sure their mother would have had a fit at the type of lifestyle they were living in when it came to hunting. He liked to think she would be proud that he was able to get out of the hunting life and into a possible law school.

Katherine's anger was starting to boil over, he knew she didn't like it when they're mother was talked about like that. She was upset that he would stoop to that level – she came to him looking for help to find dad and _maybe_ get him back on the road with her. But those ideas were starting to drift away even if she didn't want them too. There was a moment of silence when she stood staring at her brother, just before her hand shot out and smashed against the metal door loudly that connected outside; to the place where she parked her baby. The car her father gave to her when she was a teenager; the 1967 Chevy Impala.

"The weapon training? And melting the silver into bullets?" Sam didn't stop though, knowing he had hit a nerve when she hit that door hard, "God, Kathy! We were raised like warriors." They're whole childhood was taken away because of their father; he didn't want his and Katherine's adulthood to be ripped away as well.

They strolled up towards the Impala; Katherine's shoulder tensing as Sam continued to list the things they had to do as kids, "So, what are you gonna do then, huh?" She was the one with the sarcastic tone this time as they reached the trunk, all the happiness of seeing him and getting him to come along was out the window now. Now, she was annoyed beyond belief. Sam leaving two years ago came rushing back with full force. "Gonna live some normal, happy apple-pie life?" She turned to him with a raised eyebrow, as if daring him to continue the way he was talking before. He should know by now not to get her riled up, "Is that it?" She couldn't help but still feel a little jealous; even if he did run off to have a happy normal life, it would be something she could never have.

"No, not normal." Sam shook his head, "Safe."

Katherine crossed her arms over her chest again, was that it? Safe? "And that's why you ran away." She looked at him shaking her head before scoffing; the hurt was apparent before she could even hide it.

Sam could see that emotion though, no matter how much she tries to hide it. "I was just going to college." He stated slowly, trying to get her to understand that it wasn't her he wanted to get away from. He never wanted to leave her but he did what he must to live the life he eventually wants – with Jess by his side. "It was dad who said if I was gonna go, I should just stay gone."

"Well I didn't say that did I." Looking to him with narrowed eyes, "Why did I deserve to be forgotten too?" Sure, he told Jess about the family. But not _once_ ; did he call her to ask for a meeting with his girlfriend or even just to see each other again and catch up.

Katherine looked away from a moment, blocking the emotions back into her head. "Dad's in trouble Sam…" She began again, trying to forget about they're conversation, "…If he's not dead already; I can feel it." Sam stayed silent just looking at her, surveying her facial features – as if trying to read her mind.

"I can't do this alone." She told him honestly. She couldn't and wouldn't want to, she needed back-up this time.

Sam frowned, "Yes you can." He knew she could. She was a great hunter; better than dad in his opinion and obviously better than himself.

Kathy nodded back, agreeing that she really could do the job alone, "Yeah, I can." Not trying to pretend she didn't have the skill to pull this off, "But I don't want to."

Sam began to seriously think, this was the first time his sister has ever asked for any help when it came to hunting. She really must be desperate for him to go with her. He let out a breath, giving in. With his sister asking for help; there was no way he could say no was there? "What was he hunting?" He asked finally. If he was going to do this; he needed to be back in time for the interview that could conclude his future profession as a lawyer.

A gush of relief flooded Katherine's body, a sense of thankfulness brewing in her gut. She nodded, knowing she'll have a partner in the mission to find they're father and that was something to be happy about.

…

Katherine popped the trunk open; lifting the bottom cover – revealing hundreds of different weapons and things that coincide with hunting demons and monsters. She hooked the cover up with one of the large guns, making sure the base didn't hit their heads as she looked for the items needed. "All right, let's see…" She murmured to herself, bending over to find the papers and recorder she needed. "Where the hell did I put that thing?" Rummaging through all the different pockets to find the folder she needed to show Sam.

Sam watched her for a moment; all the hurt he saw earlier just suddenly went away when he asked what they're father was hunting. He knew her – she was able to hide her emotion deeply and ignore them; he knew that wasn't healthy but it felt like he was making the best decision to help her with finding they're father.

"So when dad left," He began, trying to make conversation, "Why didn't you go with him?" They used to go with dad hunting pretty much all the time, it was very rare to get separate ones.

"I was working on a case back in New Orleans." She replied, still trying to find that information dad left her and the stuff she had already printed out. "It was a voodoo thing – pretty easy case."

Sam smirked a little, giving out a small laugh. "Dad let you go by yourself? While he went on a different case?"

Kathy paused, looking up with a raised eyebrow, "Dude, I'm 26." Shaking her head with a hint of a smile. She looked back down, going through one last place. And she finally found it, a bunch of papers and a tape.

She stood back up, quickly looking through all the pages to find the ones she wanted. "All right, here we go." She brought the main page she needed to the front of the stack. "So, dad was checking out this Two-Lane Blacktop outside of Jericho, California." She passed over some of the reports she printed out about disappearances. "About a month ago, this guy." Pointing to the news article on top, "They found his car, but he himself had vanished – MIA."

Sam studied them carefully; listening to every words his sister was saying about the case. As far as he could see it – the sooner they find dad and solve this case; the sooner he can get back to Jess and live they're 'apple-pie' life as Kathy liked to call it.

The article was of an 'Andrew Carey', from September 19th 2005. He didn't look like the type of guy to just up and leave without any trace.

"Maybe he was kidnapped?" Sam suggested, looking up to his sister.

Kathy gave a small nod, but didn't confirm that, "Good assumption – but here's another one. It's in April." As she began to list off all the articles she found of missing persons, she placed them in a pile, "Another in December of '04, '03, '98, '92 … and the list goes on," She looked back up to her brother to prove a point, "There's ten of them spread out over the last 20 years." She grabbed the pages back from Sam and threw them back into the place she found them, "All of them are men and all within the same five-mile stretch of road."

"It started happening more and more … so dad went to go dig around." She paused, just before looking up at Sam with the same foreboding look she wore earlier, "That was nearly 3 weeks ago, Sam."

"He hasn't called?" Sam wondered, but he could guess the guy hadn't – otherwise Kathy might not even be here.

Katherine shook her head in reply, "No, I haven't heard from him the moment he left; which is bad enough." She turned back to the trunk and grabbed the recorder, "Then I get this voicemail yesterday."

As soon as she flicked the 'on' switch static filled the recording, you could barely hear the familiar voice of John Winchester. "Katherine." The voice spoke, slightly muffled but the words were clear enough, "Something is starting to happen. It's serious." Katherine clenched her fist as she heard her father's voice again – she had been playing this thing on a loop all morning on the drive up here – part of her knew she should have gone with him, but she still had a case to finish. "I need to try to find out what's going on. Be very careful, Kathy. We're all in danger."

"He never calls me Kathy, not unless there was true danger involved." Katherine flicked the 'off' switch, looking back up to Sam to see what he had to say.

Sam could tell this was serious now, he knew he was basically the only one who called her Kathy – there wasn't really anyone else they knew closely. "You know there's E.V.P on that?" He wondered if his sister had caught that – but by looking at the smirk on her face, she already had.

"Not bad, Sammy." She nodded approvingly before started to rewind the tape – getting to the part when she figured out how to get the most out of the message. "All right, so I slowed the message down and ran it through a Goldwave … took out the hiss in the background and this is what I got." She began to play the new version.

… _."I can never go home…."_ A sultry woman's voice filled the speakers. The voice was breathy, something similar to what a ghost would be saying.

"Never go home." Sam repeated, looking at the tape confused. He quickly moved out of the way just as Katherine began to close the trunk, putting everything away including the recording.

Kathy turned to her brother, crossing her arms before leaning on the trunk of the car. She looked to him seriously, "In almost two years I've obviously never bothered you one bit, and I've never asked a thing from you even before you left." She paused, seeing him still silent – he began to glance over to the apartment where Jess still resided waiting for him to come back, "But now I need your help. Will you help me find dad?"

After hearing about all those disappearances and although he knew his sister could take on anything, it felt like he needed to go with her now. Whether it was her intention or not – she persuaded him to help. "All right." He gave in, "I'll go." Katherine nodded, pleased with herself she was able to persuade him to come. It felt wrong to take him away from this life he obviously wanted, but it was only for one case – and honestly, she truly missed her little brother too much.

"I'll help you find him." He continued, but needing to make sure she knew that he'll be coming straight back here after the case was over. And after that; hunting will be gone for good in his life. "But I have to get back first thing Monday." He needed to make sure he was back for his interview on Monday. "Wait here." He went to turn towards the apartment, needing to gather some things before heading out on the road. But before he could leave Katherine stopped him with a question.

"What's happening first thing Monday?" She wondered, tilting her head with curiosity.

"Uh," He wasn't sure how to say it honestly; some part of him knew that his sister would be happy for him but another part just felt odd about it. He'll get to have a safe and normal life while Katherine will always be under their fathers command. He had really wanted her to come with him to college – she had gotten great scores in school, but the need to please their father was obviously too great. "I have an interview."

"For a job?" She frowned. How could a job be more important than they're father?

"No," He shook his head, turning back to her fully, "It's a law school interview and it's my whole future career on a plate." He looked happy about the idea, ecstatic even.

"Law school?" Kathy repeated back, extremely impressed all of a sudden. Something like that really would decide a future career. "Wow, good work."

"Do we have a deal or not?" He asked again, just to be sure she wouldn't back fire.

Katherine stayed in her place for a minute thinking – she really couldn't take that sort of opportunity away from him no matter how much she wanted him to stay with her. "Yeah." She nodded, finally speaking after a moment, "We have a deal – I'll bring you back before Monday."

Sam's look was thankful but also glad – she could obviously see how much this interview meant to him. And that was something he loved about his sister; even though she didn't say it – sometimes she really had wanted something different for him, something that wouldn't decide his life to be either dead or alive. Really, he was just glad she hadn't turned out to be a second father figure – she wanted the best for him and that was enough.


	3. Pilot - Part 2

**Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Pilot – Part 2**

It was near midday before the siblings decided to stop. They were now hundreds of miles away from Stanford, California and for Sam it hurt to be that far away from Jess. They had to make the stop because of gas reasons; Katherine's poor baby was running out of fuel so a pit-stop was in order. They were able to find a service station down one of the long highways through the state; from the looks of it, this place had nearly everything. They had cold beer, gas for cars, mechanics, ice, tires ect… The only thing they didn't have was a designated smoking area.

Katherine plugged the gas hose inside the opened gas cap of her car; the hole that allowed the car to be fed. She knew it would automatically shut off the moment the tank was full, so with that she headed inside to get some much needed food and to actually pay for the gas. Sam stayed in the car, not feeling the need to buy anything – he just wanted to get to Jericho and find out what happened to his father. The sooner this case was over, the sooner he could get back to Jess and the interview of his career.

It was five minutes later Katherine walked out of the station; with bags of chips, a couple bottles of water and three healthy granola bars. She walked over to the pump and took the hose out of her filled tank, placing it back onto the stand where it belonged. She was all paid up; well, Anita Aframian was all paid up according to the 7th credit card she had currently in her pocket. "Hey, Sam!" She called to her brother, seeing him sitting in the passenger seat still but had the door wide open to let some air in.

He turned to look over his shoulder, "Yeah?"

Katherine showed off the food in her hands, "Want some?"

Sam grimaced, he never really did like the taste of fuel station food. "No thanks." He said to her, shaking his head. "Besides, how'd you pay for that stuff?" He questioned, already knowing the answer but still wanted to hear her say it, "You and dad still running credit-card scams?"

Katherine gave him a shrug even though he wasn't looking at her to see, "Yeah, well – hunting isn't exactly a payable job is it?" She walked over to her side of the car, throwing the bags of chips into the back seat. "Besides, all we do is apply – we don't force them to give us the cards."

"Yeah?" Sam laughed, wondering what names they could have chosen this time. They've had some pretty funny ones in the past, "And what names did you write on the application this time?" He slowly moved back into his seat firmly, closing the door as his legs were pulled inside the car.

Katherine let out a grin, "Burt Aframian and his daughter Anita." She laughed, climbing into her own seat behind the wheel – still clutching the water and granola bars in her hands. It was nice to see Sam laughing, it looked just like old times – just driving together to another case, not worrying about anything else. "We scored two cards out of the deal."

Sam wasn't surprised, he nodded still not letting the smile lift from his face, "Sounds about right." He silently wondered how many credit cards his sister's applied for and got since he last left; if he had to guess, it would be five to six more than before. He looked down at the box of cassettes in his lap; while Katherine had been in the station he had been rummaging through them – seeing if anything had changed. But as he expected, all the tapes were the same, there were even a couple of new ones – but they were still cassettes and from the same day-in-age. "I swear, man." He shook his head, "You've gotta update your cassette tape collection." It's honestly making his sister look older than she is – like 40?

Katherine frowned, "Why?" She questioned, not understanding as she shifted in her seat to get comfortable again, before having to drive another couple hundred miles to get to their needed destination.

"Well, for one." He put his finger up to signify the number, "They're cassette tapes." His second finger went up, "And two…" He began to take out each cassette as the name was mentioned, "Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?" Kathy snatched the Metallica tape out of his hand before he put it away, "It's the greatest hits of the Mullet Rock!"

She just grinned, "Well, house rules, Sammy." She simply told him, putting the tape into the music machine on the dash board. "The driver gets to pick and play the music; the passengers shut their cake-holes - which includes you." She threw the now-empty case back into the box of cassette tapes.

"Oh," She realised there was still food in her hands – there was a reason she had gotten something healthy. Sam was never the one to eat junk food, he's the healthy eating one in the family. A good burger and fries would fill her up nicely, but him – nah… "Here." She threw the three granola bars and a bottle of water into his lap. "It's the healthy option – eat up." She placed her bottle of water into the back seat with the chips to have later.

Sam stayed silent momentarily, enjoying this moment they were having as siblings, "You know, 'Sammy' is a chubby 12-year-old." Katherine reached over to the volume control, turning it up louder and louder as he spoke. "It's Sam. Okay?" He had to yell the last part; she pretended not to hear, but it was clear she did. He actually really did like it when she called him Sammy though; it was like him calling her Kathy – they were sibling names that passed between them.

"Sorry, Sammy!" Katherine replied loudly, grinning as she glanced over to him, "Can't hear you – the music's too loud." She put the car in 'drive' before hitting the gas, the car began to move and they were on their way again to Jericho, California with the rock music playing in the background.

…

They finally hit Jericho, California's '7 mile' sign a few hours later. The music was turned down much to Katherine's dislike, but it needed to be low enough for Sam to make some phone calls. He was trying to track down their father by calling every morgue and hospital within a 20 mile radius - which isn't that far considering there wasn't many cities or towns within that area. Sam finally hit 'end' on the last call he made, with a sigh he looked back over to his sister. "Well," He began, "There's no one matching dad at the hospitals or morgues."

"That's good." Katherine nodded, "That's something." A few seconds later they began to near an old bridge to the left side of the car. Two police cars were blocking the entrance and by the looks of it, another car was in the middle of the bridge – and this particular bridge looked too old to even be standing. "Check it out." She nodded her head over for Sam to see. That _definitely_ looked like something they should check out.

Katherine started to pull over to the side of the road, just opposite the abandoned bridge. As they started to stop, she put the car in 'park' and took out the keys. The siblings sat there looking at the sight for a moment. It was only a second later that Kathy began to reach over to the dashboard pocket, reaching into the hole before grabbing a small wooden box. Beside her, Sam's eyes widen – realising what she was about to do. His heart started to pound against his chest; he hoped they wouldn't get caught. She grabbed the identity that showed herself as a Federal Marshal.

Katherine turned to him, nodding her head over to the bridge, "Come on, let's go." She climbed out of the car, followed by a reluctant little brother who never liked the idea of impersonating someone with a high authority; or any authority for that matter.

…

Katherine waltzed up confidently towards the town's cops; looking professional in her movements. Sam behind her copied her professionalism, playing along in order to get the information they were looking for. They began to overhear clearly what the cops were saying about the scene.

" _There's no sign of a struggle_ _,"_ The man inside the car was saying to the chief, _"_ _No footprints. No fingerprints_ _."_ He continued, looking completely baffled. _"_ _It's spotless. It's almost too clean."_

Katherine and Sam slowly approached the officers; one of them hovering inside the car looking for trace evidence and the other overlooking the investigation itself.

"So this kid, Troy." The main investigator began, looking to his colleague in the missing person's car. He was a tall black man; he wore his authority with pride, he didn't look like the kind of man you want to mess with. "He's dating your daughter?"

The man nodded back, looking glumly, "Yeah." He replied, looking grief stricken when he thought about his poor daughter. Neither of the officers had noticed Katherine and Sam over to the side. Some cops they were – strangers were walking all over the crime scene!

"How's Amy doing?"

The man looked over the missing boy's car, "Putting up missing posters downtown."

Katherine felt like this was the moment they should step in, "You fellas had another one like this just last month, am I right?" She made sure to put a bit of an accent in her tone – it wasn't really needed but it felt cool. She slowly walked around the car, almost like she was surveying the damage and trying to figure out what had happened. Yes, she was doing that – but it was from a whole different prospective than what human investigators do.

The coloured man's head snapped up at the new voice, he quickly straightened his back and frowned confusingly but also wary, "Who're you two?"

Katherine gave him a quick show of her badge; not giving him enough time to actually read it and look closely – it wasn't exactly the real thing you see. "Federal Marshals." Her badge was a plated silver star inside a circle, on the top part of the folded wallet was the credentials with her name and picture on it – not that they were real of course.

The deputy chief looked between them in disbelief, not really believing them – but then, who really would in the right state of mind? "You're a little young for marshals, aren't you?" Looking the both of them up and down closely, as if waiting for them to make the wrong move.

Katherine gave him a flirty smile, "You sure know the way to a woman's heart, huh?" She turned serious again and walked over to the side of the car where the other man still remained, "You did have another one like this, correct?" She didn't let anything show that she wasn't a Federal Marshal. Sam kept to her side, trying to act like her partner.

There was a moment of nothing before the deputy nodded his head, deciding to trust these people in being who they say they were. "That's right." He gestured which way he was talking about, "About a mile up the road and there's been others before that."

Sam decided to get something in, "So this victim…" He began, taking a step closer to the man, "…you knew him?"

The man nodded back, "A town like this." He started pursing his lips at the thought that everyone in town would have known this boy, "Everybody knows everybody."

"Any connection between the victims?" Katherine spoke up loudly, drifting around the car – looking from every angle. "Besides that they're all men?" Hoping they had something other than that; these people were ridiculous investigators by the looks of it. Although, not knowing about the supernatural didn't really help them in any way, does it?

"No," The man shook his head sadly, this was a very old case that no one in town was able to solve it. There were so many people missing within a large time frame, it didn't make sense. All of their suspects always had an alibi; it just doesn't make sense. "Not as far as we can tell."

Sam nodded, "So, what's the theory?" He wondered, walking over to meet his sister at their original 'walking in' spot.

"Honestly?" He scoffed, looking clueless, "We don't know. Our best guess right now is a serial murder or a kidnapping ring – but even then we haven't found a connection to either."

Katherine couldn't stop herself from saying a quip, "Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys." She said it loud enough for both the officers to hear. She was able to stop talking by the sudden feel on her brother's foot landing on her own. She had to try and keep in the painful squeak at the sudden pain in her foot.

Sam smiled at the two officers, looking completely calm while his sister held a passive face, "Thank you for your time." He said to the two, nodding to each, "Gentlemen." He turned around beginning to walk away, Kathy followed him this time but narrowing her eyes at the back of his head. The two men held bewildered looks, watching the siblings walk away with each other – not really sure what to think about them.

Katherine caught up to Sam, staying slightly behind him. As soon as she saw the two officers look away and talk to each other again, she clapped her hand over the back of her brother's head. Hard.

Sam gritted his teeth at the pain, he should have known he'd have that coming, "Kathy, oww!" He hissed to her, still trying to keep his professional look until they got in the car. Katherine kept looking forwards as Sam bumped into her slightly, trying to keep his voice down, "Why the hell did you do that?" He knew the answer already, he just couldn't stop himself from asking.

"You stepped on my foot!" She hissed back in a complaining manner, glancing over to him. "And now I have scuff marks on the top of my best shoes!" She felt like whining like a kid.

"You're such a girl…" Sam rolled his eyes at the statement. There wasn't many things she liked girly-wise, but her shoes and jacket were her _thing_. "Why do you talk to the police like that anyway?" He's seen her do it before on other cases when he still lived on the road, he could never understand why though.

Katherine let out an exasperated sigh, "Come on," She moved herself in front of Sam, halting him in his spot, "They don't really know what's going on." She didn't keep her voice down low anymore, they were much too far away from the two cops to be overheard. "We're all alone in this. If we're gonna find dad, we've gotta get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."

Sam understood, but still knew none of this was right. Suddenly, he looked over his sister's shoulder, seeing three men walking up to the crime scene, much like they had – two FBI officers and another old man with a more special cop uniform, whom one would guess to be the sheriff. He cleared his throat and gestured over her shoulder, trying to tell her that being quiet would be very beneficial right now.

Katherine turned around in her spot, looking over to where her brother was staring at. "Can I help you two?" The sheriff questioned, the three men looking straight at them.

She shook her head, pursing her lips for a second. "No, sir." She replied, going back to her previous manner to stop suspicion from arousing. "We were just leaving."

The two FBI agents started to move past them; Katherine gave each one a nod. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully." Remembering they're faces – both the names were on their fake FBI ID badge wallets. She and Sam began to walk past the Sheriff; they could practically feel his eyeballs glaring at them in suspicion. Both of them knew that right then, he definitely wasn't someone you want to be caught by.

…

Katherine and Sam continued back into town as soon as they were away from the abandoned bridge; they made the mutual decision to go and she the latest victim's girlfriend – hopefully they'll have something they can work with because right now, they don't have much of anything apart from missing guys on pages.

They were able to track her down putting up posters around the Southwest Museum, right next to a sign that announced town meetings – one of them being help this Sunday at 8pm, and by the looks of it, it's classed as an emergency one.

"That must be her." Katherine commented, walking beside her brother and nodding over to a girl with a stack of missing posters in her hand.

Sam nodded, "Yeah." Seems like a reasonable conclusion.

The girl was putting up another poster as the siblings approached, "You must be Amy." Katherine decided to speak first, her tone comforting but also questionable and she slipped her hands inside her pockets.

Amy turned to the two, frowning slightly at they're unfamiliar faces, "Yeah?" She didn't know them, so why were they talking to her?

Sam leant against the wall while Katherine stayed near him, "Troy told us about you." She tried to comfort the younger girl in a way family would, "We're his Aunt and Uncle. I'm Katherine." She gestured over to Sam, "This is Sammy."

"He never mentioned you to me." She spoke confused but didn't disregard them immediately. She turned around to continue walking down the street, intending on putting every poster in her hand up by the end of the day. Katherine and Sam began to slowly follow her.

Katherine nodded, as if knowing she'd say that, "That's Troy." She explained, acting like she really was related to the boy. It was the only way they were going to get anything out of Amy – like the Deputy said, everybody in this town knows everybody. And that means they don't take too lightly to strangers. "We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."

"So we're looking for him too…" Sam butted in, moving around to stand in front of Amy, stopping her in her steps – getting her to look up at him as he spoke, "…and we're kind of asking around."

Suddenly, another girl came over from the side, going straight to Amy and ignoring the siblings. "Hey," She spoke to Amy carefully, "Are you okay?" Katherine could tell they were friends by their body language and the gentleness of they're voices.

Amy nodded slightly in reply, "Yeah." Her eyes moving downwards sadly at the loss of Troy.

Sam looked back at Amy, "Do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions?" He tried to make it sound like he was just interested – not trying to make this look like an interrogation.

"Sure." Amy gave her answer. Maybe they could help find Troy?

…

The four of them found a diner just up the road, the other girl who was assumed to be Amy's friend came along too. They sat around a four-person booth by the window as they talked.

"I was on the phone with Troy." Amy began to explain what happened; or a least as far as she knew, "He was driving home." She rung her hands together, trying to keep a lid on her negative emotions. "He said he would call me right back. And…" She paused, "…he never did."

Sam feigned confused, "He never said anything – nothing strange or out of the ordinary?"

"No." Amy shook her head dejectedly, internally wondering what was happening to her boyfriend right now – where could he be? Is he even alive? "Nothing that I can remember."

Katherine gave a small sigh to herself, this wasn't getting them anywhere. She took a sip from the mug of coffee in front of her just as Sam began to talk again. "I like your necklace." He stated, nodding his head over to the small pendant around her neck. It was a pentagram on a chain; used for protection.

Amy clasped the pendant around her neck with her hands, looking at it longingly, "Troy gave it to me." She explained, a small smile reaching her lips when she remember when he gave it to her. "Mostly to scare my parent with all that devil stuff." She chuckled slightly, looking back up at the other three.

Katherine just nodded, giving her a small smile – she didn't feel the need to correct what the girl said. That necklace meant the complete opposite. Just by judging the looks of what the two girls wore; if they were to tell her the necklace meant protection instead of what she thought it was – Amy could actually just take it off all together.

Sam didn't stop himself from saying anything though, a small laugh came out as he said, "Actually, it means just the opposite." He elucidated, getting everyone's attention, "A pentagram is protection against evil. It's a really powerful symbol. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."

Kathy looked between the girls, they didn't look too interested in that – she let out a loud sigh gaining everyone's attention. "Thank you, _unsolved mysteries_." Patting her brother on her back before turning to the two again. "Alright, here's what's happening. The way Troy went missing … something just isn't right." She paused, looking between them with a raised eyebrow, as if waiting for one of them to spout out something. "So, if you've heard anything…" She watched as the two girls shared a look, they turned to each other with a secret in their features. "What is it?"

The Goth looking friend shrugged, not knowing if this information would actually help find Troy, "Well, it's just – I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk."

"What do they talk about?" Katherine and Sam asked at the same time, not even realising they had done so. They just sat there waiting to hear the story.

She seemed to think for a moment, gathering her thoughts together, "It's kind of this local legend." She began to explain. "This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like, decades ago." Kathy and Sam took a moment to share a look that said – Bingo. "Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes. And whoever picks her up … well, they – disappear forever."

Katherine gave herself a nod; they finally had a lead. Now it was off to the library – home of the books.

…

They were able to fine the local library within 10 minutes, it was only a couple of streets away from the diner where they left the two girls to themselves. The siblings were able to find a computer station in the building, immediately they set to work in looking up the death of that girl in the news articles. There had to be something that spoke of a dead girl dying horrifically; it's the one of the only ways a spirit that takes men, is able to be born.

They typed up a lot of terms to find dead a woman on the Centennial Highway, trying to find just one thing that could help them more in they're investigation. But they were always about murder; they hadn't thought to look up horrific suicides yet – at least, not until Sam thought of it first.

"Let me try." Sam insisted, watching his sister type something in that would never work. All she was doing was searching the same thing over and over again – not realising there could be another possibility.

Kathy shook her head stubbornly, "Nope. I got it." She was about to type in another pointless search when Sam pushed her away, the wheels under her desk chair moving her away from the computer enough so that Sam was able to position himself where she used to be. "Dude – I was typing!"

"And you weren't getting anywhere, were you?" Sam countered, grasping the mouse and looking at the screen. "I thought of something – maybe the death isn't a homicide?" He suggested, turning to her slightly to see what she had to say.

"What?" Kathy frowned, moving herself next to Sam again but let him use the computer. "Angry spirits are born out of violent deaths – What are you thinking then? Suicide?" It did make some sort of sense, especially when they've come up with nothing to do with a murder of that magnitude on the Centennial Highway.

"Yeah." Sam nodded, turning to the screen to input the search. ' _Female Suicide Centennial Highway_ ' was put in and the search engine came up with one result. He clicked onto the link, giving them the full view of the article and details. "The article's from 1981, ' _C_ _onstance Welch, 24 years old jumps off Sylvania Bridge. Drowns in the river.'_ "

The sister's head tilted curiously, "Does it say why she committed suicide?"

Sam read through it briefly to find the information, "Yeah," He said, looking at one particular passage near the bottom. Katherine must have seen his face when he cringed, looking a little sick. "What?" She questioned.

"Before they found her, she calls 911." He replied, "Her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both of them die."

Katherine bit her lip thinking; this must be the girl; all the information was lining up and it's confirmed when Sam finished reading what they needed, " _'Our babies were gone, and Constance couldn't bear it' said husband, Joseph Welch._ "

The article showed a picture of the jump site, the old familiar abandoned bridge in it – a bunch of different deputy's carrying a body bag away from the scene. "Doesn't that bridge look familiar?" She said to Sam, already knowing herself what that exact bridge was. It's the same bridge Troy disappeared from – the latest victim.

Sam nodded, "Yeah; it's the bridge Troy disappeared from." Knowing it's the next place on their list to check out again. But this time they'll be looking for anything to do with Constance Welch, not Troy.

…

It was night by the time the siblings went back to the bridge; the sky was dark and the only light source came from the moonlight and the headlights of the Impala. Katherine made sure to park at the end of the bridge, not letting the wheels touch the thing. It was abandoned for a reason – a construction reason, she didn't want her baby ending up in the water.

Katherine and Sam slowly walked up and down the bridge, going over to one of the sides to look down below. Heavy streams on water flowed in a rush; this river wasn't as full when Constance took the plunge many years ago – meaning her body had easily hit the bottom with a crunch instead of just hitting the water. If she had hit the water now; she would have survived – unless of course she drowned herself instead. "So, this is where Constance took the swan dive." Katherine looked over the metal barrier; she didn't really know what they should be looking for – honestly, she wanted her father to tell her what to do at this moment. Right now, she had no clue.

Sam leant against the barrier next to her, watching her. "So, you think dad would have been here?" He wondered. Everything about this case was leading them to a dead end. Sure, they've possibly found the spirit causing the mess – but that's all they really know other than the victim count. They've found nothing else yet; he only had a day or two left till he had to start getting back for the interview.

"He must have." Kathy nodded, thinking it through. They've gone the same root as their father would have, "He's chasing the same story and we're essentially chasing him. It's like a game of cat and mouse." She let out a sigh, relinquishing her grip from the side and continued to walk down the bridge.

"So, now what?" Sam asked, following behind her. Part of him wondered if they'll even solve this case or find dad by the time he had to get back; he just hoped they did to avoid any conflict.

Katherine gave a shrug, not sure where to go from here, "I guess we'll have to keep digging till we find him."

"Kathy." Sam said, stopping her from walking, halting himself to get her to turn around. "I have to get back soon, by Mond-"

"-Monday for that interview." Katherine overlapped him, already knowing what he was about to say, she twisted around with an annoyed look, "I know Sam. I haven't exactly forgotten." Her words came out a little more bitter than she originally planned. She looked at him for a moment, just studying him to be sure of something, "You're really serious about this?" Raising an eyebrow – she knew she was supposed to be supportive but the loss of dad creeping in and not knowing what to do now was finally getting to her, "Your just gonna become some boring lawyer? Marry that girl, Jess was it?"

Sam ignored the hurt he felt, hearing the bitterness in her voice. "Maybe." He shrugged, he had thought about asking Jess to marry him for a month now – he just hasn't had to guts to do anything about it yet. "Why not?"

"Jessica doesn't know the real truth does she?" She ignored his small question, "Everything we've done as a family – what you've done and what you're actually capable of?"

"No." He spoke with finality, walking towards his sister slowly as his voice started to rise, "And she's never going to find out."

"Isn't that a healthy relationship, huh?" She said sarcastically, letting a shrug pass her shoulders, "You can pretend as much as you want, Sammy – but the fact is, you will always be one of us – a hunter." She slowly turned around, beginning to walk away, trying to release some of this built up anger before Sam got the brunt of it.

Sammy snapped, "No!" He wasn't going to be brought back into this again, his life was with Jessica and he'll protect her from his past life. "I am not like you, Katherine!" He quickly moved to stand in front of his sister as he used her full first name, getting her to stop and look at him – he was pissed beyond belief. She was supposed to be the one who's supportive, she had been in the past – so why is she acting out now? "This isn't going to be my life!"

"Yeah?" Kathy scoffed back, stopping. She looked up to him, "You had a responsibility!"

"To dad? And his crusade?" Sam said back to her disbelievingly. All their father had done for them was take away both their childhood – and if something doesn't happen soon, both of their adulthood as well. Katherine just stood there, watching him talk – anger slowly building in her veins as she gazed at him. "If it weren't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what mom looks like." She shifted at the mention of their mother. "And what difference does it make? Even if we did find what killed her … mom's gone, and she isn't coming back."

That was enough. Sam stifled a gasp of surprise when he felt Kathy grab the front of his jacket with her hands; just before pushing him hard against the side of the bridge pole. There was a moment of silence where Sam observed his sister – he could see the lining of salty water covering her pupils, her hands were clenched and he couldn't move – it looked like she was trying her hardest not to lash out.

"Never." Katherine spoke deadly calm, her voice slightly riddled with coldness, "Talk about mom like that." Family was her hard spot; one wrong thing to say about them and she'll become your worst nightmare. She pushed herself off him, taking a couple of steps back – Sam just looked at her gobsmacked and a little scared in his place, this was the first time he's really seen her in this new light. Those two years must have really been harder on her that he thought.

She turned around, trying to breathe away the emotions churning in her gut. But all of it slipped away as soon as she saw something in the distance; someone standing on the bridge barrier. A woman in a white tattered dress with long black hair. "Sam."

Sam forgot about the moment too as soon as he saw the woman – The woman looked over to them almost wistfully, taking one last look before falling forwards towards the rocky water. Both siblings took off in a sprint, running to the spot she jumped from – they didn't really fully comprehend that it could be the spirit – not until they realised the woman had vanished with no sound of a splash. "Where'd she go?" They looked over the side, eyes darting around the surface of the water and around the area from their current view.

Katherine shook her head confused, "I have no idea." A spirit wouldn't just leave like that, they always come back for more. Suddenly, the engine of the Impala sprung to life, the headlight switched on at the same time making the siblings turn to the now lively car at the end of the bridge.

"What the hell…?" Katherine murmured to herself, moving away from the barrier to look at her car strangely. Internally knowing what was happening but didn't want to think it out loud.

Sam stepped beside her, looking confused, "Who's driving your car?" Thinking slightly that it might be a kid trying to mess with them. Without looking, his sister grabbed something from her pockets and showed him; it was her set of keys – ones of which held the car key on the chain. "Uh, oh." He blinked, looking back up at the possessed car again.

The car began to move towards them, the speed picking up quickly. "Go! Run!" Katherine shouted to Sam over the noise of the car's engine. They slowly backed away before taking off; running as fast as they could to try and avoid being run over.

"Kathy! Over the side!" He called back to her; it was the only way they were going to avoid being run over. The both of them took that idea; both siblings flung themselves over the barrier – Sam tried to stay as close to the bridge, in a hope of catching himself on the side – but Katherine however, she took a swan dive towards the water.

The car squealed to a halt, stopping just before it hit the metal blocking the water.

…

Sam was able to grasp onto the side of the bridge – one of the under-pillars. He held onto it with one hand; his muscles screaming at him to think of something before his body falls into the water below. He gasped, using whatever energy he had left to pull himself up onto a ledge – he clung himself to one of the pillars as he sat up straight, a little afraid of falling into the water. He began to look around, hoping to see his sister on one of the pillars like him – but he saw no one in sight. "Kathy!" He shouted as loud as he could below, realising she must have fallen into the water. His heart thumped against his chest in fear, not knowing if his older sister was okay or not. "Kathy!"

Below, on the water's bank, Katherine crawled out of the water – completely covered with mud and yuck. "Here!" She coughed, feeling sick when she realised some of the muck had travelled down her throat at the impact of hitting the water's surface.

"Hey," Sam called back down to her, relief flooding his veins when he saw his sister alive, "You okay?" He couldn't help but laugh slightly at what she looked like from where he sat on the ledge. She was completely covered in mud – from head to toe.

Katherine moved herself to lie down on her back; feeling exhausted. "Peachy!" She yelled sarcastically, pissed at the situation she had gotten herself into. "My favourite coat and boots are ruined!"

He couldn't help but laugh; of course she'd say that. He was too happy to see her okay to even think about their argument on the bridge; he knew it was his fault for riling her up and causing that scene – he knew he needed to apologise for the things he said, he just needed the right moment to say them.

…

It took roughly half an hour before the siblings were standing by the car again, checking it over and themselves to make sure neither was hurt. Katherine slumped in relief when her car wasn't damaged in any way – she would always be worried about her baby's safety more than her own.

"The car alright?" Sam inquired, knowing how much the Impala meant to her.

"Yeah," Kathy smiled thankfully but still couldn't help but hate the spirit for bringing her car into the mix, "Whatever she did to it, baby seems alright now." She scoffed before shouting loudly, hoping the spirit could hear her, "That Constance chick is a BITCH!" She sighed before leaning against the hood of the car, looking forlornly. Her entire body was covered with muck, her hair had fallen out of its braid so now it fell down the sides of her shoulders. Her best boots and jacket were covered with filth too. Having a bad day was the understatement of a century.

Sam could understand what was happening with the spirit, "Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." He looked over to Kathy, "Where do we go from here, genius?"

Kathy just flapped her hands up with a shrug, splatting some of the mud on the ground. She cringed, she never did like being dirty – especially when it came to wearing something she liked. _Her poor boots … Her amazing jacket …_

Sam sniffed, smelling something foul coming from beside – the muck Katherine wore. He chuckled a little amused, turning to her, "You smell like a toilet." He commented, watching her lips purse with a glare at what he just said. Just then, they knew exactly where they needed to go first.

…

The siblings arrived at the nearest motel in town; Katherine had to place a towel on her seat as she drove – she wouldn't damage her car's interior with smelly mud – it was bad enough her clothes got the brunt of it. They entered the main area where people go to pay for the rooms; the place was small and basic but that's what all motels were like.

Katherine took out the same credit card she used to pay for the gas earlier that day; she placed it in front of the clerk. "One room, please." She said to the man. They weren't likely to get any sleep anyway, it was mostly to tidy up – maybe have a quick nap before finding another lead on where dad could be – or even to just finish this case.

The man picked up the blue MasterCard on the counter, looking at it closely. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion, his lips forming a frown, "You guys having a reunion or something?" He wondered, thinking back to that older guy coming in about three weeks ago; buying out a room for an entire month. Not once did he question Katherine on why she both covered in a putrid mud and smelled like a toilet as Sam described.

Sam perked up at this, "What do you mean?" Katherine had said that she and dad got the same surname on the credit card – if this man's seen their father with his credit card; that would mean he's here.

"That other guy, Burt Aframian." He looked between the two siblings with suspicion as he explained, "He came in and bought out a room for the whole month."

Kathy smiled – the dry mud cracking a little on her face, maybe they had finally found him? "Oh, that's just our father. What room is he in? He told us to meet him here."

…

They were able to get the man to tell which room their father had rented out – they were one step closer to finding him and putting this case behind them. Sam grabbed Kathy's lock-picking instruments from her pocket before trying to jimmy the door open – leaving Katherine on the lookout to make sure no one was watching them break into another room.

Sam was able to unlock it; he pushed the door open and quickly walked inside – grabbing Katherine by the arm and pulling her in at the same time before closing the door shut.

As soon as that door closed; Katherine and Sam were met with the site of a paper-filled room. There little bits of paper and articles strung up on the walls; pages from books stuck up there too. The place was a mess; there were food wrappers everywhere, an empty suitcase on the bed and dozens of books just lying around. "Whoa." Was the only thing Sam could mutter; this was definitely their father.

Katherine reached over to flick the lamp on beside the door; bringing a little more light to the room but just enough so they could see everything clearly. She saw a half-eaten hamburger still sitting on its wrapper, she gave it a sniff – immediately gagging at the smell. The burger was probably a week old, maybe a week and a half. "I don't think he's been here in a while." The hope that had built up earlier was slowly dwindling into nothing at that conclusion.

Sam bent down to the floor, noticing salt formed in a circle - something you'd only do to keep evil out. He picked some up with his fingers, making sure it was indeed salt. "Salt." He commented to his sister, getting her to look at what he had found, "Cat's-eye shells." Point over to the objects in question. All of this looked very over the top for a spirit that only seems to haunt a Highway. "He was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in."

Something else caught Katherine's attention – on the wall beside her, there were picture and comments written about the victims. They were all in a line, starting from number 1 to the latest that wasn't Troy. He's a newbie victim, he wouldn't be on this wall – they're father was long gone before his disappearance. "What is it?" Sam asked.

"They're the Centennial Highway victims." Katherine briefly looked through the pictures taped up on the wall; she had printed each of them out and showed Sam them just before they left Stanford. "I don't get it." She muttered to herself, the pool of victims just doesn't make sense. The only connection they all seemed to have, was that they're male. "They're different types of men, they work different jobs, they're ages are all over the place and some of them are even of different ethnicities." Something caught Sam's eye on the other wall; checking them out – it was the different theories their father had come up with for the case. "There's always a connection and there's nothing they have in common!" This was so frustrating.

Sam let out a small huff; seeing a particular picture and name on the wall he recognised – everything fit as soon as he saw it. "Dad figured it out." He told her.

Katherine peaked in interest, "Really?" She turned to him, waiting for him to tell her exactly what their father had figured out.

"He found the same article we did." Pointing to the news posting on the wall; the one that talked about Constance taking her own life and the news of her kids dying. "Constance Welch – she's a ' _Woman in White'_."

His sister just gave a blink before turning back to the men on the wall, "Well, at least we know what these douches have in common now, huh?" How could she have not seen it? It seemed so obvious now that she thought about it. If she's a ' _Woman in White'_ – this means that husband of hers wasn't exactly as loving as he claimed in the article.

"Okay," She spoke, turning back around to confer with her brother, "If we're dealing with a ' _Woman in White'_ , dad would have found Constance's corpse and destroyed it."

Sam thought for a moment, just looking at the article, "She might have another weakness."

Kathy shook her head, "Dad would want to be sure," She said, walking over to her brother and the article pasted on the wall. "He'd dig her up and do a salt and burn. Does it say where she's buried?" They needed to make sure if he had done it yet; yes they've seen her which could mean her body was still buried and not destroyed. But, if Sam's right – this other weakness could be what's keeping her here still, making their lives even harder than it needs to be.

"No," Sam shook his head, briefly looking through the words again – he didn't see it then when he first read it, and he couldn't see anything that suggested it now. "Not that I can tell." He tried to put himself in his father's shoes, "If I were dad, though – I'd go ask that husband of hers." He paused, "If he's still alive that is."

Katherine nodded to herself for a moment, knowing that's where they'll need to go next. "Alright." Her hand grabbed some of her dirty hair, cringing again before glancing to the shower. "I need to clean up – see if you can find an address for this guy and we'll take it from there."

Sam turned to her, seeing her walking towards the bathroom. He needed to say it now; he couldn't hold it in any longer, "Hey, Kathy?" He stopped her. She turned to him questionly, wondering what was wrong – she could see the apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry about before … about mom and dad…" He was about to continue but Kathy held up her hand, stopping him.

"It's fine, Sam." She sighed, feeling drained. "You just need to keep a lid on things that mention mom or dad like that. You should know by now I don't react well to it." She paused, looking thoughtful, "Besides, no apologizing, remember." Raising an eyebrow with a smirk, "It's a sign of weakness." It was one of their father's marine rules – he had a lot of them but this was the most used.

Sam let out a little chuckle, it's been a while since he's heard that one, "Fine … Jerk."

"Bitch." Kathy retorted playfully back, already forgetting the conversation again. She gave him one last grin before retreating to wash herself and the clothes out.

 **Note: I will be gone for most of the week and a bit of the next because of a family trip but I'm trying to update as much as I can before then. Please let me know if you like this fanfic; for some reason isn't letting me see how many people have viewed/read it. On any of my stories actually – I'm only able to see how many follows/fav/reviews I have.**


	4. Pilot - Part 3

**You'll notice the first scene was in the last chapter; it made more sense to put it in the third part instead of the second. Feel free to skip it if you've already read it. This will most likely be my last chapter for any of my stories until next Tuesday so, enjoy…**

 **Clothing 'katherine winchester - pilot 2'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Pilot – Part 3**

The next morning Sam and Katherine were already awake by 9 to get ready; they had eventually gotten some sleep – it wasn't much but it's just something to keep them going. They couldn't lose any more time.

Sam was listening to his voicemails; there were a couple of them but all from Jess. Katherine departed from the bathroom wearing some new clothes; she had spent about an hour trying to get all the mud out of her jacket and boots – luckily there was a washing machine for tenants to use (for a price of course) but it worked wonders. They were now all clean which was lucky for her. She now wore a different pair of jeans with no cuts in them, a plaid shirt with her second favourite jacket on top. She wore some plain red shoes to match her shirt – all she did was rummage around in her bags for something good to wear, she wasn't feeling very picky today.

"Hey, I'm starving." She told Sam, pulling her jacket on as she walked out of the bathroom. "I'm gonna grab something to eat at the diner – do you want anything?"

Sam shook his head, he had too much on his mind to eat – he really just wanted to get back home to Jess, especially after the voicemails she left him, "No thanks."

"Anita Aframian's buying." She tried to persuade him, but still knew it wouldn't work. He never liked the credit card scams she and their father did. He's the goody-two-shoes of the family which didn't at all bother her actually. She noticed he hasn't even eaten much since coming out on the road; she had to nearly force him to eat those granola bars back in the car. It must be because of leaving Jess back in Stanford; she got it, she really did.

Sam shook his head again, humming a 'No'.

Katherine sighed in defeat before opening the door; passing the doorway to the morning sun. She closed the door behind her, leaving Sam inside the motel room all by himself. She only got a quarter of the way towards her car when she felt eyes on her back – she turned around, just glancing over her shoulder to see who was looking at her. Her eyes slowly widened, a little panic creeping in her skin when she saw the Deputy and the other from the bridge, including the manager of the establishment. They were standing there together, glancing over to her every couple of seconds.

The older man was pointing over to her, "Crap." She quietly swore. Why couldn't they just have some good luck for once?

Katherine twisted her body away from their view of her face, quickly grabbing the phone in her pocket. She needed to warn Sam, he's gonna have to go forwards on the case by himself until she got herself out of this mess. She dialed his number, hearing the ringing tone as she placed the device to her ear. It took only a couple of seconds until he answered, _"_ _What_ _?"_ He questioned.

"Take off, Sammy – the cops are here." She told him urgently, keeping her voice down slightly. She could hear the cops starting to close up behind her.

" _What about you_ _?"_ He asked in a worried tone.

Katherine shook her head, "They've already spotted me, there's no way out." She glanced back to the room Sam was currently in, "Go find dad – I'll find a way out. I always do." With that, she closed her flip phone ending the call. She heard the footsteps only a couple of feet away now; she spun around to face them – she wasn't the type of person to run. "Is there a problem, officers?" She asked nicely, maybe she'll get lucky and be let go. ' _Yeah, right'_ she scoffed silently in her head.

The coloured guy crossed his arms, "Where's your partner?" He questioned, looking smug. It must be because she was caught in what he thought was a game to her.

Katherine shifted in her spot, "Partner?" She looked confused, playing it off pretty well if you asked her. "What partner?" She watched as the lower man was ordered to go check out the motel room they stayed in last night – the place were all their father's research was and hopefully NOT Sam.

"So," The deputy got her attention again, "Fake U.S. marshal badge and identity and fake credit cards." He raised an eyebrow, "Have you got anything that's real?"

Kathy gave him a serious look, "My boobs." She told him; trying to stop herself from laughing on the spot. It was a really good comeback though, wasn't it?

Just then, the guy who went to check out the apartment came back over. He went over to whisper something in the higher man's ear. Not even a second later, she found herself pinned face down on a car, her hands handcuffed behind her back. She knew right then, she was in some deep trouble unless she figured out how to escape. _"_ _You have the right to remain silent…"_

…

It didn't take long to reach the police station a mile away; Katherine had been trapped in the backseat of the cop car for only ten minutes before being shoved into a holding cell. She was relinquished from there when the Sheriff arrived back at his desk; he wanted to question her personally. Now, she sat in a wooden chair – inside a small, confining interrogation room. ' _This just sucks'_ , she thought, sulking in her seat and leaning back. She placed her hands, rung together on the table in front of her.

The Sheriff suddenly walked in, carrying a big brown case-file box in his arms. "So, you wanna give us your real name?" He knew this girl wasn't who she says she was – she practically stunk with lies. Besides, he had a good inkling to what her real name was – he just needed it to be confirmed.

"I told you," She retorted with an exasperated sigh, leaning forwards so her elbows touched the table. She acted annoyingly towards the man that wasn't listening. "It's Fitzgerald – Annie Fitzgerald." She couldn't stop her lips from quirking up – unfortunately, the man saw this.

The Sheriff placed the box down on the table; placing his hands either side of it – leaning some of his weight on the sides before becoming serious to Katherine. "I'm not sure you realise just how much trouble you're in here." He knew this girl had something to do with these disappearances – and if it wasn't her who did the crime; he would make a large bet that she knew exactly who did.

Katherine tilted her head in a curious manner, "And, what kind of trouble would that be?" She wondered, not taking his words seriously but turning the situation into a joke – she never took any cop's words seriously these days. "Misdemeanor kind of trouble…" She let out a small laugh with a careless grin, "Or the 'Squeal like a pig' trouble?"

Anger started to bubble under the man's veins – she wasn't taking any of this seriously. "You have the faces of 10 missing persons on your wall … along with a whole lot of satanic mumbo jumbo!"

"So?" She just gave a shrug. "And technically…" She continued, ready to be even more annoying to the man just by being logical. "They were on Burt Aframian's wall; not mine." The girl was cocky; the Sheriff didn't like that.

"Don't get arrogant with me, girl." He stated, ignoring her last quip. "You are now officially a suspect."

Kathy huffed a laugh, leaning back in her chair again in amusement, "Oh yeah; because I could definitely take down a fully grown man at the age of three. And that's the age I would have been in '82 when the first guy went missing." She paused, before finishing with a drawling sarcastic mark, "That makes absolute sense. Well done." She clapped her hands together twice for good measure; almost mockingly.

There was a moment of silence, "I know you got partners." Meaning this Burt Aframian or whoever the hell he was – and the younger man he saw earlier yesterday at the latest victim's crime scene. "One of them is an older guy." Deciding to leave the younger man out of this right now; they'll find him! He was so sure of himself.

He looked down at the box of papers and evidence, "Maybe he started the whole thing." He guessed. The girl had to have learned this business from somewhere.

"So tell me…" He reached into the box to retrieve the item he thought was the most valuable, "Katherine…" He watched as the girl frowned at the name, a spark of surprise flashing in her eyes. He pulled out a very large, old and dirty journal stuffed to the brim with 'nonsense' as he liked to call it. He threw it in front of her, the loud thump bouncing against the walls.

Katherine's eyes darted straight to the very familiar book. She bit her tongue from reacting; why was her father's journal in this pile of stuff? – he would have _never_ left it behind. "Is this his?" The Sheriff cut through her journal gaze. He noticed how well she tried not to react; but her clenching fist gave it away. He went over to one side of the table, sitting on the edge before speaking again. "I thought that might be your name." Nodding to himself, reaching for the journal and started to turn page after page – trying to reach for a specific section he found earlier. "See, I leafed through this … what little I could make out anyway. I mean, its nine kinds of crazy."

Katherine sat straighter in her seat; this was _definitely_ her father's journal.

"I found this too." The Sheriff finally reached for the specific page, moving it closer for Katherine to see. She leaned in at the same time, wondering what her father could have written that caught the attention of a small town cop.

Kathy took the closer look, reading the blurb. She frowned, ' _Katherine. 35-111'_ it said in a thick black marker – it was posted on the next clear available page. She ran the number through her head before internally grinning; her father was alive and this proved it. They were co-ordinates; her father was a marine, her name and the numbers positioned this way was a message. She couldn't help but breathe out in relief; still trying not to tip anything off for the cop to take advantage of – she was just too damn relieved.

"Now…" The man's jaw tightened in aggravation, wanting to solve this 20 year old case as quickly, and as painlessly as possible. "…you're staying right here till you tell me exactly what the hell that means."

…

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Looking to the Sheriff with a glare, she needed to play the part. "It's my high school locker combo!" If only there was a distraction call; because as soon as these cops left – she could make a run for it.

The Sheriff was now couched down, his head the same level as hers – his patience was beginning to run thin. "We gonna do this all night long?" He didn't mind – if it meant getting the answers he wanted.

One of the deputy's suddenly appeared in the open doorway, "We just got a 911." He told the Sheriff, knowing the boss needed to know. "Shots fired over at Whiteford Road." Katherine watched as the Sheriff glanced over his shoulder, his eyebrows crinkling in annoyance. He obviously wanted more time to break her down. The man said nothing but the deputy scurried away, prepping himself to leave for the call.

"You have to go to the bathroom?" The Sheriff turned back to ask Katherine.

Katherine was silent for a moment, feeling an ounce of confusion in her mind, "No." She finally stated, shaking her head slowly.

"Good." He said to himself, reaching to the back of his belt to unclip the handcuffs the girl arrived in; they jiggled around – Katherine didn't know what he was doing until she felt the metal claw wrap around her wrist, feeling herself being chained the bar on the table. ' _Great, now I have to get out of this too_.' she muttered to her subconscious. She looked up to see the Sheriff finally retreating from the room; obviously to go help the deputy with that 911 call. The lock of the door sounded; she was locked in from the outside. But the only thing she knew was – she finally had the chance to escape…

Kathy looked down at the journal, her lips quirking when she saw a single large paper clip sticking out of the middle. Her free hand reached over to grasp it, she looked down at it with a nod … this was all she needed to escape…

…

The Winchester sister was easily able to disconnect herself from those cuffs; she waited for her best moment before moving out of the room – one of which she had unlocked from the inside too. All the deputies were gone; it felt strange – there was no body there to stop her from just walking out the front door (which wouldn't be best anyway), not that she was complaining of course.

She was finally able to escape the building with her father's journal grasped under her arm. She saw a large enough window to squeeze through; the exit was practically on the roof, meaning she'd have to find a way to climb down.

Thankfully, she found a maintenance ladder going down the side of the building, connecting to an alleyway. 'This will do, nicely.' she spoke in her head, grabbing onto the ladder before making her way down it in a fast manner. She didn't know when the deputy's would be back – if they came back early to see that she was gone, there would literally be a search party out for her. And that was something she couldn't deal with right now.

Kathy needed to get back to her brother; she was worried just like any other older sibling would be. She knew Sam could take care of himself; but he hasn't hunted in two years – she wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get himself caught in any trouble. At the end of the ladder, there was a several feet drop – one of which she had to jump from. She was able to leave the vicinity without gaining any sight of cops cops – now she needed to call Sam … tell him about their father and what he's done.

…

Katherine was able to find a pay phone a couple of blocks away. She dialed Sam's number the moment she knew everything was quiet outside. The sky was dark now, night had fallen.

She heard someone pick up on the other line, "I know the fake 911 call was you, Sammy." She teased, grinning a little. She had figured it out the moment she heard about it – she really didn't see any of the civilians around here carry guns – much less shooting them. "That is VERY illegal."

Sam's laugh came through the speaker, " _You're welcome."_ Kathy could tell he was happy to hear from her and that warmed her heart more than a bit. The sound of a car engine was coming through along with his voice – he must be driving.

"Listen, we've gotta talk." Katherine suddenly became serious, Sam needed to know their father wasn't here – nowhere near in fact. They'd been chasing a ghost, metaphorically speaking.

Sam let out a small scoff, as if nodding to that statement, " _Tell me about it_ -" He began, ready to tell his sister all that he had found out. _"_ _So the husband was unfaithful. We_ are _dealing with a 'Woman in White'. She's buried behind her house, so that should have been dad's next stop-"_ He was cut off by Katherine, trying to stop him from talking.

"Sammy, shut it for a moment." She told him, rubbing her fingers against her temples – she doubted their father got the time to torch Constance's remains before he skedaddled out of town.

Sam didn't really stop, he just put in a final comment, " _Why hasn't he destroyed the corpse yet?"_ He couldn't understand – their father never would have left a case like this.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," She butted back in. "He's gone; he's not even in town anymore."

" _What?!"_ Sam exclaimed, you could tell he wasn't understanding why – he wondered how his sister knew this piece of information. " _How did you figure that out?"_

Katherine sighed, looking down at the journal in her hands – the crusty cover of the journal rubbing against her skin. "I have dad's journal, Sam. He left it in the motel room for the cops to find and to interrogate me with it."

There was a pause, _"But, dad never goes anywhere without that thing."_

"He did this time."

Sam's curiosity got the better of him, " _What does it say?"_ He wondered.

She shook her head with a sigh, "It's the same old ex-marine crap." She explained, knowing he'll realise what had been found in the journal.

" _So there's co-ordinates_." Sam nodded to himself on his end. " _Where do they lead too?_ " He knew there wouldn't be enough time to find dad before he went home – but at least they know he's alive and safe. He still didn't get why the journal hadn't been taken with him; it can't have been just to tell them where he is – there had to be something more to it than that.

Katherine would need a map to be sure of where this place was; there was no way she would be able to figure it out at this precise moment. "Not sure." She shook her head in reply.

" _I don't understand_ ," Sam continued, starting to rant a little in his non-understanding manner, " _What could have been so important that dad would skip out in the middle of a job?"_ There was a pause on the other line, _"Kathy … What the hell is going on?_ " Katherine was about to open her mouth, ready to tell him she honestly had no clue what was going through their father's mind right now. But, the squeal of car tires swerving and Sam's panicked gasp came through loud and clear.

"Sam!" Kathy's eyes widened at the sound, "Sammy!" She yelled into the receiver in worry for her brother's safety. Before the call was cut off, she heard one last thing ' _Take me home_.' The familiar breathy voice that first sent them here was coming through. The call was immediately cut off after that…

…

Katherine was running as fast as she could the moment that call ended; she had no car which didn't help – what did help was her ability to run a far length at a greater speed. She knew where Sam would be taken – the Welch's original house, the place Sam said she was buried in the back yard. Her heart thumped against her chest; scared for her brother and what he could possibly be facing right now. She needed to find him … and fast.

…

As she passed into the Welch's past estate; she heard Sam's screams of pain – the noise echoed in her ear. She rushed to the voice of her brother; finding him and her Impala parked in the front drive – her hand immediately reached for her gun the moment she was only a couple of feet away – she still continued to move forwards, pointing the weapon towards the driver's side window. The apparition of Constance was sitting on Sam's lap, his body laying down – her hand dug in his chest. Without even thinking, she began to shoot. The bullets passed through her and she knew it would piss off the spirit enough to leave her brother alone.

Her whole round was shot by the time it disappeared; she was about to get Sammy out of the car but he sat himself up with a painful grunt, sweat beading against his forehead – he quickly put the car in drive before making his move.

"I'm taking you home." Sam murmured to the spirit that became invisible to the eye. This was the only thing he could think of that would stop the spirit from trying to kill him again. This home was her weakness – it had to do something to her.

"Sam!" Katherine yelled, watching as her brother drove her car so suddenly into the side of the old building. She was worried about her brother AND her car now. She wasn't in her place for long, she took off again but inside the building – "Sam!" She clambered around the Impala, to the side that wasn't covered in wood and wreckage.

Sam let out a cough when some dust filling his nose and mouth, "Here!" He called back to her, needing some help now.

She was finally able to get over to the passenger window, "You okay?" She asked frantically, looking over to her brother.

Sam winced, feeling a little pained to move, "I think." He decided to say; he would heal – those finger burns on his chest hurt like a bitch though. "Help me." Katherine opened the door, moving to lean her knee on the passenger's seat before reaching out to grab his outstretched hand, she pulled him with her, trying to get him out of the car.

To the side, Constance had appeared again – only, she began to focus on one particular thing lying on the floor. A portrait. The picture was of her standing behind two small children; a boy and a girl – her children, the memory taken a few weeks before their deaths. The spirit tilted her head, some form of emotion slipping through, but the spirit was more confused than anything – like she never realised why there was a picture of her in this house.

Katherine helped her brother stand; wrapping her arm around his waist to stop him from falling. They both looked up, spooked to see Constance standing there – her head lifted from the photograph, her eyes beginning to narrow in danger. Within a second, she threw the photo to the floor like trash and moved aside – using her power of manipulating things around her to slide a very heavy chest-of-drawers towards the siblings – pinning them to the car, unable to move from their spot.

Both Katherine and Sam grunted at the impact; the pain coming more from Sam whose still injured by the spirit's initial attack. Simultaneously, they tried pushing it away but the piece of furniture didn't seem to budge one bit.

The lights in the room began to flicker, much like how someone would know when a spirit would be coming. But Constance was already here? Who could be doing this? Sam and Katherine looked around confused for a moment – and so did Constance.

Suddenly, the sound of water trickling and gushing down the stairs caught their ears. All three of them looked up to see that water was indeed, running down the side of the staircase.

Constance looked up to the top, her vision seeing two small beings just standing there. Her apparition flittered to the bottom of the stairs, her appearance flickering in and out each time she moved. The siblings ceased in their struggles, too intently watching on at the scene unfolding in front of them. They were too intrigued to see what was going to happen. " _You've come home to us, mommy_." The boy and girl said in union, their voices drifting as Constance does when she spoke words – their hands joined together.

Constance's facial feature turned scared, she was frightened by the sight of her children. The children vanished from the top of the staircase, appearing only a second later behind their mother and she twisted around at the same time. Now they were only a foot away from each other.

There was a pause; right before Constance's painful screech filled the room - the children wrapped around her with their arms, giving the spirit a hug from all sides. The siblings couldn't help but jump at the sounds; the scream was heartbreaking. All three apparitions began to dissolve; melting into each other – all the siblings could see were body and tissue parts melting together; before becoming smaller. Sam stood with his mouth dropped slightly while Kathy frowned uneasily at the disgusting sight. A blue light began to bounce around the room, all of it converging on the disappearing spirits – everything supernatural in this house was starting to diminish. Everything merged into a wet puddle on the floor; the sounds ceased into silence. The lights flickered once more before becoming dark – leaving nothing but the steady breathing of the Winchester siblings.

Katherine and Sam looked down at the chest-of-drawers, feeling the original force that kept it in place just fly away in an instant. They gave each other a look before in union, shoving the piece of furniture off them with all the strength they had left. The object tumbled on its side, creating a heavy thump.

They slowly made their way over to the evaporating puddle by the stairs, "So, this is where she downed her kids." Katherine murmured, sighing as she looked around the destroyed room.

"They were her weakness," Sam nodded, still looking down at the water on the floor, "It's why she could never go home – she was too scared to face them and what she did."

Kathy looked impressively at her brother, "You found her weak spot." Maybe he wasn't so sore in the hunting world after all; he WAS always the brain-box out of the both of them, even though she would consider herself smart too. She turned around with a smile and patted her brother on the chest once, hard.

Sam let out a painful laugh, bending over slightly as the pain rocketed through his body. "Wish I could say the same for you," He spoke, feeling the pain thankfully slip away a little, "What were you thinking, shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey!" She exclaimed, turning back round to him before she reached her car. With a point towards him, she stated, "It worked just how I thought it was going to. And to prove the point – your alive aren't' you?" She turned back around to her poor baby; her eyes narrowing when she saw the large crack in her front window. "Another thing – if I find something more than a broken window on baby…" She looked over to her brother, giving him a daring look, "…I'll ignore my sisterly instinct and kill you." She made sure not to look too serious – because she really wasn't. Sam would know the whole 'killing' part would be a joke, she's said it many times in the past and has never reacted on it.

Sam nodded, laughing again – his chest hurt and all she thought about was what he did to her baby. Just another day of hunting with his sister…

…

Hours later they were back on the road; Katherine had been able to fix the window at one of the past service stations – for a hefty price though because of the hour of night – the money didn't matter though, she had a credit card without her name on it. The silly thing is; those cops hadn't even taken the credit cards from her purse away … some cops they were…

The Impala continued down the same highway they came in on; Katherine was driving while Sam sat in his passenger seat – a map spread out on his lap with a ruler in his hand. "Okay," Sam spoke as he nudged the flashlight further into the crook of his neck and shoulder, he found the co-ordinates on the map their father had left in the journal. "Here's where dad went." He pointed to a specific spot, "It's called Black Water Ridge, Colorado."

Kathy glanced over to the map before nodding at the name, "Sound like a nice place," She turned back to the road, "How far away is it?"

Sam tried to think of a good estimation, "It'll be about 600 miles."

Katherine began to think to herself, taking slight glances over to the brother who still looked at the map. It was Saturday night, nearly Sunday morning. She knew that interview of his was in the morning of Monday – there was no way he'll have enough time to travel to Black Water Ridge and be back before then. A crushing feeling in her stomach began to press at her; she'll have to go along without him, alone. And that broke her heart. "You still wanna go back?" She asked with a small voice, not looking at her brother in fear that he'll see her internal dilemma. She wanted to try be the supportive sister she used to be good at.

Sam looked over to her, not being able to see her face clearly – he suddenly remembered about Jess and his interview, the two things he's been looking forward to doing/seeing again since he left Stanford. "Kathy –I…" He started, knowing it will be hard to see him go again and just by the fact that she couldn't look at him proved that, "…I have to – you know that."

"Yeah," Kathy licked her lips, nodding her head numbly. "I'll take you home, then." She tried to a make a laugh, glancing at him once; playing it off that she was completely fine with the decision but it didn't exactly work. She reached over to the volume control on the dashboard, turning it up loud enough to drown out the thoughts and spoken words. The flashlight switched off – turning the car dark inside … Sam leant back in his chair, sighing … he would be home soon…

…

In a couple of hours Katherine was pulled up beside Sam's apartment. She put the car in park and toned down the music to nothing. There was a moment of silence before Sam finally climbed out of the car, pulling out his bag with him that sat by his feet. As soon as he was out, he closed the door – bending down to look at his sister through the opened window. Neither of them really knew what to say – it felt like a goodbye, one that they never really shared before the college drama. "You'll call me if you find him?" Sam finally asked. Needing to know what the outcome was going when their father was found.

Katherine gave him a nod with a small smile of assurance, feeling a little better than before when they first found out where the co-ordinates were going to lead. She tried to distance herself a little at her little brother's departure – the first time he left two years ago crushed her, and the no communication really didn't help. She just didn't want to break down again like last time.

"Maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?" Sam suggested; after today. He wouldn't mind do some hunting here and there; but he wanted his normal life with Jessica too. He didn't want his sister going at this all alone for too long.

"Yeah," Kathy agreed, not feeling too confident in the small promise. "That's cool."

Sam gave her one last smile, patting the car tenderly before turning away – ready to see his girlfriend. Katherine was about to leave but felt the need to get one last thing in, "Hey, Sam!" She called to him, leaning over towards the open window so he could hear better – she was able to get the brother to turn back to her confused. She just had to say one last thing before she left, "We made one hell of a good team, didn't we?" She couldn't help but remark.

Sam couldn't deny that, "Yeah, we really did." He nodded with a grin, making Katherine smile a little wider.

Kathy gave him one last look before putting the car back into drive, stepping on the gas and moving down the street – away from his line of vision. He watched her go … some feeling of longing creeping into his heart. If he didn't have Jessica or this interview he dreamed off … he might have actually accepted with going back on the road, but just with his sister. He knew that when they're on the road together – they protected each other, even if it meant getting hurt in the process.

And that was the curse of the Winchesters; they just didn't know that yet.

…

Katherine couldn't get rid of this bad feeling in her gut as she left; something inside her was churning with worry. Ever since she moved away from that parking spot, leaving Sam standing there ready to walk in that apartment – this feeling just wouldn't stop bothering her. She stopped on the side of the road, only a couple of streets away from where she dropped Sam off – her fingers drummed against the steering wheel while her lips pursed. 'It wouldn't hurt to just check on him – maybe sit outside until he left for that interview' she agreed to herself.

That feeling just didn't go away; so what she did without a second thought – was turning around and driving back high speed towards Sam and Jess.

…

Katherine still couldn't get rid of that feeling from her gut, even as she parked outside the building to observe. Shaking her head, she turned the car off and stepped out of the Impala with her keys in hand – running up towards the apartment.

" _No!"_ The un-mistakable voice of her brother's yell impacted her ear drums as soon as she hit the floor his apartment was on. Her eyes widened, his voice was filled with horror. " _Jess!"_

"Sam!" She kicked down the door; the hinges ripping off their sockets. Nothing stopped her as she ran through the apartment, following the loud noise of her brother screaming for Jessica. That horrible feeling revolved in her gut more intensely – a part of her already knowing what was happening. Her shoulder hit the bedroom doorway when she stopped short; caught with the sight of what was happening – it hit her face like a punch to the jaw. Jessica was hung from the ceiling – her stomach sliced opened and bleeding, her dead eyes looking down to the floor as her body started to melt into flames.

Katherine snapped out of it quickly, seeing her brother still lying on the bed hollering for this sight not to be real. The flames grew hotter and fiercer. Her instincts came out in full force; ignoring the blinding heat, she pushed forwards, ready to grab her brother - but he was very persistent. "No! No!" He kept struggling, not wanting to leave Jessica – he needed to save her. 'She's not dead!' He kept repeating in his head like a mantra.

"Sammy, we have to get out of here!" Katherine screamed to her brother over the blaze; the fire was loud and hot – her jacket was sticking to her in sweat.

"Jess! Jess!" She tried to ignore his pleas, her first priority was getting her little brother out safety, but her heart cracked – she couldn't help but remember 22 years ago. That day she had to take Sammy out of their childhood house as their mother burned on the ceiling too.

…

The fire kept on burning for just under an hour after Katherine was finally able to drag her brother out of there safely. She stood to the side in the crowd of residence, watching the last of the smoke float in the air and fireman retreat from the building. She wrapped her arms around herself; it was exactly how mom died – right down to the last detail. But why? Why did this happen? And to Sam?

With a sad sigh, she glanced over her shoulder to the Impala. Sam stood by the open trunk, keeping his head down towards something. She turned on her heels, leaving the dreadful sight to go and see her brother. When she approached, he wasn't the same happy Sam she left him as not even an hour ago – he was the complete opposite, and she could definitely understand why. Sam loved Jessica – he had to see her burn to nothing in front of his eyes, no one could fully bounce back from that – she just hoped he wouldn't take risks just to see this demon dead. Everyone in their family wants this bastard dead – but you can't kill this thing if yourself is dead before that can happen.

"Sam." Kathy approached slowly; watching him load up a rifle with tremors in his hands. His shoulders were shaking, his breathing hard. She could tell he was in the midst of crying his eyes out.

Sam looked up slowly, seeing his sister there with sorrowful eyes. He saw her try and make a smile, but it didn't happen – like she knew a simple smile would never make him feel better. "She's gone." He choked, tears beginning to leak from the side of his eyes; they started to stream down his cheeks in droplets.

Katherine felt tears coming to her own eyes, but not because of the loss of Jessica – but because of what her brother is having to go through – what he's being _forced_ to go through. She held her arms open, "Come here." She said softly, offering to give him a sisterly/motherly hug – it's been two years since she's had to do this – but if this would give him just an ounce of comfort, she'd do it all the time.

Sam didn't even wait a second before dropping the rifle in his hands, the sound of a thud bouncing in the trunk before he fell into her awaiting arms, his head buried in her neck as he cried his heart out.

"We'll find the bastard that did this." She promised, rubbing her palm against his back as he continued to weep. Katherine tightened her hold around him, telling him everything will be okay. But, something told her that not everything would be okay – nowhere near okay in fact…

 **Note: So I did change the ending a little; just because that's how I imagined how it would go if Sam had a female figure in his life, even if she is just a sister.**


	5. Wendigo - Part 1

**I was able to write the first scene during my vacation; it wasn't much but it got me started nicely. Anyway, enjoy…**

 **Clothing 'Katherine Winchester – Wendigo 1'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Wendigo – Part 1**

Katherine continued to drive down the highway at full speed; in the direction of Blackwater Ridge, Colorado. Sam slept in the passenger seat, his head leant against the window side of the seat - he shifted restlessly, his lips forming an uncomfortable frown as images plagued his mind.

The song 'Hot Blooded' by the Foreigners was cranked up high enough just so that Sam wouldn't be woken up by it - by now, he had gained the skill to go to sleep with it on and ignore it. As the song began to play the chorus, Sam's body jerked, his eyes snapping open with a small gasp. He had to blink several times to gain back his perspective, looking around to his surroundings to make sure of where he was.

Katherine was sending him concerned looks; he had woken up at least four times (that she knew of) like this, ever since the fire that killed Jess had occurred. "You alright, Sammy?" She made sure to keep looking back at the road; she didn't want to crash her baby you see. Sam blinked again, rubbing his fingers against his eyes this time to rub the sleepiness out of them. He could already feel himself want to drift off again, but his plagued mind wouldn't let him have that peaceful one he was looking for.

Sam just gave her a small, unsure nod. His mouth was too dry right now to really speak - he didn't even want to speak about the horrors in his head, let alone think about them.

"Another nightmare?" His sister guessed, expecting an answer - but all she got in return was the small cough of Sam clearing his throat. When he didn't answer, Kathy looked back at the road - biting her bottom lip slightly as she came up with an idea. "Do you want to drive?" She asked, not completely liking the idea of someone else driving her baby; but if it was going to get her brother to talk … or even help him through the loss he's going through, she could definitely tough it out.

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. Katherine Winchester ... was asking if he wanted to drive her 1967 Chevy Impala? The world must be ending...he couldn't help but laugh, "Kathy," He finally looked over to her, looking indeed a tiny bit better than he first did when he woke up, "Not once, ever, have you asked if I wanted to drive your car!"

She gave a roll in her eyes, annoyed at the comment. "I just thought you might like to." Shaking her head, not hearing that he wanted too or not, "Never mind."

Sam finally sighed, looking down for a moment to figure out how to say this properly, "Look, man." He started, twisting his body slightly so he was facing her a bit, "I know you're worried about me, I get it. Thank you, but I'm perfectly fine."

Katherine didn't look so convinced herself, "Mm-hm." She nodded slowly with a hum to the noise. Her version of being perfectly fine was throwing a fist into a tree. But for Sam, he was distancing himself from everything. Focusing all he had on finding the thing that killed Jessica. Which, to be completely honest, could be how she would cope in reality's terms.

Sam cleared his throat again, reaching for the paper Colorado map on the dashboard before opening it up, "Alright, so - where are we?"

Katherine recalled the last sign post they went past, "We just coming up to Grand Junction." Sam spread the map out, his eyes darting across it to find the specific place they were currently at. He just needed something to direct his mind away from his nightmare/dream, the vision of Jessica's cold dead hand grabbing him was still reeling through his subconscious. His attention focused on one particular spot; Blackwater Ridge was crossed out in a red marker, the numbers 35-111 were written next to it.

Sam couldn't help but feel a flash of guilt hit him when he thought about Stanford; Jess's face popping up again without his intention. "You know," He started, glancing to his sister for a moment, "Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

"Sam..." Kathy sighed, looking over to her brother as she drove, "...we dug around for over a week and we've come up with nothing." She went back to the road for a moment, trying to think of something that will put his mind to ease, even if it's only for a second. "If you want to find this thing that killed Jessica-" Sam cut her off, already knowing what she was about to say.

"-we have to find dad first." He nodded, a little more numbly than before. Sam couldn't help but let out a breath of annoyance, he felt like his father was further away than they were looking. His emotions were all over the place right now - part of him even hated his sister for even involving him in this again; that, maybe if he had stayed with Jessica, she'd still be alive and safe in his arms. But she's now … she's dead.

Katherine could sense this; she even wondered herself about alternative paths that day could of gone – that maybe, nothing would have happened if she hadn't gotten Sam to come with her - pressuring him to help her find their father - a father who isn't really missing, just out of sight. "Dad's disappearance and this thing showing up again after 20 years is no coincidence Sam. As much as I hate to say it; this feels like a plan for something - I don't know what, but dad will have the answers. We just need to catch up to him."

Sam sighed, knowing she was at least partly right, both from what he's seen and what he felt - there was nothing that could truly be done about that. "These co-ordinates are weird, Kathy." He said after looking down at the map again, he couldn't help but notice the large amount of forest area and the lack of real estate.

Kathy frowned in response, glancing at the map curiously, "What's so weird about them?"

"There's hardly anything there," Sam shook his head, confused. Why would their father send them to the middle of nowhere to meet with him? "There's like, nothing there ... it's basically all woods." He let the map flop to his lap, he looked over to his sister who wore a similar look, "Why would dad send us to the middle of no-where?"

The journey became silent again after the question was left in the air, each sibling slipping into their own individual thoughts. As they did, they passed the town's sign - 'Welcome to LOST CREEK, COLORADO … _National Forest'_.

…

It only took another ten or so minutes until they finally arrived somewhere they could stop to find out some information. It was like Sam said, there wasn't in the much in the way of anything apart from a small community of houses and the very vast forest in their backyards.

They stopped at the Ranger Station just inside of town; there were several rangers and civilians walking around – this made sense since the station was part of a nature trail. ' _The Lost Creek trail'_ to be exact. Katherine parked the Impala in the small lot just outside the station's door, right next to the large American flag waving in the air.

Currently, the siblings were inside the Ranger's station – they didn't really know why but maybe it was to get the feel for the area. They needed to figure out where their father was – if he was even there that is.

"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote." Sam spoke, looking at the map in the middle of the room. It was very detailed; it had the rises of where each part was a mountain, it showed pretty much a 3D image of what the forest around here looked like. "It's cut off by these canyons here." His gaze locked onto the hilled area that said _'Blackwater Ridge'_ , he leaned down slightly, placing his hands on the side of the table to get a better look. "There's rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place." He scoffed slightly, how the hell were they supposed to find their father in all this?

Katherine vaguely heard him, but her focus was on a photo hanging up on the wall. It was of a guy standing next to a dead bear, holding a gun. Her head was tilted to the side, her eyes full of amazement, "Look how big this frigging bear is!" She exclaimed, slightly unable to believe there was an actual bear that size. It did piss her off that this person had just killed a bear for fun - but there was nothing that could be done about that now.

Sam looked up, before giving an annoyed release of air. He stood up, walking to her side, "There are dozens or more grizzlies in the area." He looked up to the photo himself, shaking his head – silently wondering why someone would want to hike out there when all these dangerous things could tear you to pieces before you even got back home. "It's definitely not a nature hike, that's for sure." Neither of them realised a presence behind them until that person spoke up.

"You kids aren't planning to go out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" The voice spoke from behind, making Sam and Kathy spin on their heels to see who had actually crept up on them. When they turned, they saw a man in his late 40's, early 50's carrying a mug of coffee in his hands. A badge on the side of his green ranger's jacket that told them he was the boss of the place.

Sam quickly came up with a believable story. "Oh, no, sir." He started, looking believable. "My sister and I are environmental-study majors from UC Boulder."

"Exactly." Katherine nodded along with him, slipping her hands inside her pockets comfortably, "We're in the middle of finishing a paper on the different nature trails across Colorado." She let out a small chuckle, but it was a nervous one - especially when she noticed the decided look in the man's eyes … he knew they were lying.

"Bull." The ranger said. Sam glanced uncertainly to his sister, and she sent him one back. The feeling slipped away though as he continued, holding up his coffee to them as he spoke, "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?" He guessed, making him roll in his eyes at the real reason they were here.

There was a moment of nothing, before Katherine finally gave a short nod. "Yes. Yes, we are. Haley's a good friend to us." But in reality, she knew nothing about this girl – or why they would be friends with her according to this man. Her eyes quickly slipped to the name badge, "Ranger Wilkinson."

"Well," He didn't notice the slip to his badge, "I'll tell you exactly what I told her." He looked a little exasperated. This girl was obviously a pain in the ass to him. "Her brother filled out a back-country permit, saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the 24th." He gave a small shrug, not at all worried about this boy who claims to be missing by his sister. "So, it's not exactly a missing persons, now – is it?"

"No." Kathy shook her head, seeming to agree with this ranger. But in reality, sometimes there was just one thing that could convince someone that their loved one was missing. Like with her; she was convinced her father was missing by a gut feeling and a tape. But with this Haley girl; maybe she's going through something similar (without the supernatural element to it of course).

Ranger Wilkinson sighed, "Just tell that girl to quit worrying." He told the two siblings. He got it, he really did; he himself had two children and whenever one of them hadn't returned a phone call, he'd be jumping out of his skin with worry. But they always came back on time or within a few days, ready for their punishment from no calling. "I'm sure her brother is just fine up in those mountains with his friends." He turned, ready to leave.

"We will." Katherine nodded back. This was one girl they should check out – she knew this woman wouldn't have the answer to finding their father, but maybe it was a start? A puzzle piece that needs fixing together. A sudden thought came to mind; they had no idea where this girl lives. She tried to stop the ranger from leaving, he had the answers she needed, "Haley's quite a tough girl, huh? ' _A pistol'_ , some might say." She chuckled in fake amusement.

The ranger did turn around, his coffee cup coming away from his lips after a quick sip, "That's putting it mildly." He huffed, rolling his eyes again.

Katherine tried to look convincing, she needed to be to get this piece of information, "You know; it would help if I had some kind of official proof that her brother really did put down the 24th. Maybe there was just some kind of mix up between them, some bad communication maybe?"

Ranger Wilkinson paused for a moment, thinking about it. Maybe this would stop the girl from calling every couple of hours to see if there was any news; to see if they were ready to make him a missing persons? "How about the permit?" He suggested, turning fully towards them, "The back-country permit?"

Kathy instantly nodded, that was exactly what they would need. "That would be perfect." She stated. It would have everything they needed to know, and it would all be in their pocket. Sam just stood there, trying to act the part in being this Haley's 'friend', but what he couldn't understand was – what was his sister trying to do?

…

Katherine and Sam strolled out of the Ranger's station side by side. Kathy folded up the piece of paper given to her after reading it, shoving it into her pocket – she already knew where to go, they had passed the street this 'Haley' lived on through their town-in drive. Sam on the other hand, his shoulders were tightened – his lips pursed, seemingly annoyed at the fact that they had to go see this girl. He knew that's what was going to happen and it pissed him off slightly. "What are you doing?" He questioned, irritation filling his tone.

Katherine frowned, looking to her brother with some uncertainness. "What do you mean?" She wasn't understanding this sudden mood-swing.

He kept looking forwards, not looking to his sister, "The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge." He exclaimed, that's the whole reason they were in this stupid town. And the only reason they went to that Ranger's station was to look at a more local, more updated map before heading out there. "What are we waiting for?!"

They finally reached the Impala. Katherine just kept on looking at Sam, seeing some of this hidden anger blurt out, "Sam." She tried to pause him. She got the fact that he wanted to find their father, well, so does she – more than him really. Sam just needed to vent through these unlocked emotions before it got him into trouble.

Sam didn't stop. "Let's just find dad." He continued, "I mean, why are we even going to talk to this girl?" His flayed his arms out, looking to her finally over the top of the car with narrowed eyes.

Kathy raised an eyebrow, seeing him finally stop talking – waiting for her to reply, "Maybe because we need to know what we're walking into before, I don't know – one of us gets killed because of the lack of knowledge beforehand?" She told him slowly, making sure all her words could be heard.

Sam blinked, not understanding – the old Katherine he used to know would hardly ever think things through – especially when their father was involved. "What?"

Katherine crossed her arms, looking to her brother with curiosity, "Since when did you become me?" She inquired, knowing full well of her own moto 'shoot first, ask questions later'. "You're the one who always thinks things through."

Sam just kept his face marginally blank, "Not anymore." He stated. Not another word passed his lips as he made his way into the passenger's seat, his fists clenching at the amount of emotions passing through him.

Katherine just stood there a moment, keeping her eyebrows raised in shock. "Well," She muttered to herself, looking forwards to where her brother was before, "That doesn't sound good." Her brother was the calm and collected one; the person who thought everything through, the one who always had a brilliant plan. For her, she was the one with the gun – the one who can make up plans on the spot when time was tight, she was better for getting herself into trouble a lot too. Losing her more collected brother would be catastrophic in her mind; she needed that brother to return to her and fast before he went too downhill.

…

Sam and Katherine arrived to the house listed down as the Collin's address within a couple of minutes, it was literally just down the road from the Ranger's station. They rang the doorbell twice for good measure; they weren't able to knock because of the mosquito net covering the door frame. The door swung open, revealing a woman just a bit younger than Katherine; she had shoulder length black hair and her skin was pale – both from worry and just her natural shade. Her clothes were black; she didn't look like the type of girl to dress up.

Katherine gave the girl a warm smile, "You must be Haley Collins." She spoke, before glancing between her and Sam. "I'm Katherine and this is Sam." Pointing over to the brother that stood next to her on the doorstep. "We're rangers with the Park Service." She started her lie. "Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. We wanted to ask some questions about your brother, Tommy."

Haley took a closer look to them, she couldn't help but notice their very similar facial features. "I want to see some ID." She remembered to ask. Nobody could be too careful around here these days, she wasn't about to let some strangers into her home if they had different intentions to what they were really saying.

"Of course." Kathy nodded, completely understanding. She grabbed the laminated ID card out of her jacket before showing Haley. It was a small yellow card identifying a Lost Creek ranger; her picture – fake name ' _Katherine Anderson_ ', her signature and ID number were present.

Haley sighed, deciding to trust them. "Come on in." She invited them, opening the mesh door for them to enter.

"Thanks." Katherine took a step inside; but stopped when she heard Haley ask something.

Haley had nodded to the Impala, "That yours?" Looking at the old car with interest – the car looked amazing, both in condition and at the fact it was a rare car to have. "Nice." She smiled in compliment, before walking back into the kitchen and living area.

Kathy couldn't help but beam between her car and the girl walking away, "Oh, yeah." She nodded, looking pleased that this Haley seemed to have great taste. Maybe they could be friends? She made a small fist pump in the air, she loved it when people appreciated her car. Sam rolled his eyes, a wink of a smile poking at his lips in amusement but all the other emotions were trying to pass through it. He closed the door behind them; hopefully this visit wouldn't be a waste of time.

…

"So, if Tommy's not due back for a while … how do you know something's wrong?" Sam questioned as soon as they walked through the hallway into the dining room/kitchen. There had to be something that ticked over their ' _worry-scale'_.

Haley came back into the room, with two large bowls of pasta and spaghetti sauce in her hands, "He checks in every day by cell." She explained, knowing this would be crucial information. This was the reason she knew he was in trouble out there. "He emails photos, stupid little videos." She placed the food onto the table in front of her little brother, giving each bowl a small stir, "We haven't had anything in over three days now – he wouldn't do that to us."

Sam didn't seem to think it was such a bad deal, "Maybe he just hasn't got any reception?" He suggested, it's possible.

Haley immediately shook her head to that, "No. He has a satellite phone with him too. Just in case that ever did happen." The youngest boy sitting at the table just continued to play with his fork, carefully listening to the conversation happening around him.

"Maybe he forgot to check in?" Katherine leant against the doorway slightly, looking curious as to whether this 'Tommy' would ever do this.

The little brother sitting at the table spoke up this time, his voice determined. "He wouldn't do that." He denied; a spark of pain in his eyes when he thought about his older brother being out in those woods – in need of help.

She looked over to the boy, wondering how they were completely certain in their tones that their brother would never do something like this. Something pretty bad must have happened to have this much trust in someone checking in. Haley answer her silent question, "Our parents are gone." She didn't specify what 'gone' meant, but it didn't sound good by the grief in her tone, "It's just my two brothers and me now." She glanced between the two siblings. "We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

Sam was officially interested, maybe there was something here after all – besides, Kathy wasn't going to let it go before missing Tommy had been recovered. "Can I see the pictures he sent you?" He wondered as his hands rung together, looking over to Haley in question.

Haley looked to him for a moment before nodded. "Yeah." She said, looking hopeful that these two might actually be able to help her find their brother. She didn't know what they could find out from the pictures and videos that were sent to the computer; ' _but that's a start'_ she thought.

…

"That's Tommy." Haley pointed out as her brother scrolled through the several pictures Tommy had sent them during his trip. The last video that was sent popped up in an enlarged window on the screen, "This was the last thing he sent to us." She nodded to her little brother, letting him know it was okay to play it now.

Sam and Katherine watched it, seeing if there was anything strange just by watching it now. " _Hey, Haley_." Tommy spoke into the camera on his side, smiling while waving shortly. " _Day six. We're still out near Blackwater Ridge._ " Everyone in the room could tell he looked in no immediate danger, he looked happy and excited. Katherine and Sam were beginning to be fully convinced that maybe the loss of communication was something other than a broken phone. " _We're fine, keeping safe so don't worry like you always do. Talk to you tomorrow_." The video stopped, indicating that this was it from the message. At the end, Sam frowned – his eyes narrowing to the part of the tent by Tommy's head. Something moved just before the end of the video cut; it was a small glitch but he was sure there was something else there.

Katherine turned to Haley, not having seen what her brother had. "We'll find your brother," She told the girl determinedly, "We're gonna to be heading out to Blackwater Ridge tomorrow."

Haley nodded, thankful that they would take the time to look, "Maybe we'll see you there then." She saw Katherine start to open her mouth, a look she's seen on many people lately. "Look." She stopped her, not being able to take what this supposed Ranger was about to say, "I can't just sit around here anymore … so I hired a guide. Someone to take me up there – I'm heading out in the morning and I'm gonna find Tommy myself." She was determined, and like Katherine would have done – nothing would get in the way of finding her brother.

Kathy really did understand; if it were her brother up there in the mountains after days of no contact. She'd be gathering supplies as soon as possible before going in head first too. But in her case, she would do everything in her power to make sure her brother lived a long life, even if it meant sacrificing her own. "I know how you feel." Understanding evident in her tone – something of which Haley picked up on and she smiled in thankfulness.

"Hey." Sam butted in, only slightly having heard their conversation over his video observations. He looked over to Haley, "Would you mind forwarding these to me?"

Haley nodded, shrugging her shoulders – it couldn't do any harm. "Sure." Something in her gut was truly saying she could trust these two people; it did seem a little suspicious when they said they were from Ranger Wilkinson himself – but she passed that for now. Her older brother was her biggest priority right now.

…

Sam and Katherine were able to find a bar in town; they had left the Collin's house several hours ago with the forwarded footage sent to Sam's laptop computer. Loud music blasted in the room; but luckily for the siblings, they were able to find a table further away so they could actually hear each other speak. You could tell this was very much a hunting (nature) town; stuffed heads of various animals were hung from the wall – something that made Katherine cringe slightly about. She hated animals dying; even though she killed things every day. But these people were at the very least, killing poor animals who were trying to make their way in life.

Katherine was sitting at a table, drinking a bottle of beer as Sam came and sat next to her. He had wanted to stop by the library for a bit to get the low down on the town's history, and dig up some other things that might be of interest in their case. "So," Sam began, beginning to retrieve the laptop from his shoulder bag, "Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic." He told her, meaning this town doesn't get many tourists and outsiders coming through here. "It's mostly just the locals and stray campers here and there." He placed his bag to the side, opening the laptop to set it up.

"But still," He continued, looking over to his sister who sat there watching him curiously, wanting to hear what he had been able to find out. She was never too much help in the researching part of the cases, not unless you could just search what you wanted and be done with it. "This past April – two hikers went missing out there and they were never found." He opened up his folder, a pad of lined paper on one side and the other had a pocket with cut-out newspaper clippings.

Katherine couldn't help but notice that Sam had turned back into her geeky brother again; but she knew it was only for a small amount of time. "Were there any before that?" She questioned. If there were more than a couple of people going missing up in those mountains; then something was going on. One or two maybe every couple of years made sense because of the nature and terrain up there – but any more than that looks suspicious to her.

"Yeah." Sam nodded, pulling out the news articles from the pocket before giving them to her. Kathy shuffled through them as he continued, "In 1982, eight people … all vanished within the same year."

Kathy made a small whistle sound with her mouth, looking amazingly shocked, "Jeez, that's a high body count." That was definitely not normal. The article in front of her was saying a grizzly attack that took out all these people. She scoffed, "Grizzly attack, my ass."

Sam nodded, agreeing with that notion, "There were more – it happened again in 1959. And then again before that in 1936."

Katherine looked up from the articles in her hand – making the date connections, trying to add the math together. "So that's, what, 23 years apart?" It was very specific.

"Just like clockwork." Sam opened up the laptop lid, turning on his screen. He had already gone through the last tape Tommy emailed to his sister, especially after seeing a suspicious glitch in the background. "Alright, here – watch this." The video loaded up into his video editor program, "Here's the clincher. I downloaded that guy Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out…" He made sure Kathy was watching before going through the three clicks of movement he found.

Kathy leaned forwards, her elbows hitting the table – her beer completely forgotten. "Play it again." She told him after seeing it the first time. In the video, a large human-size object went past the tent behind Tommy – _very_ fast in speed.

"That's just three frames." Sam let her know, looking down at his laptop for a second. "It's just a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is – it can move."

Katherine nodded, already knowing this was going to be their problem now. "Nothing human can run that fast." She mused to herself, wondering what this creature could be.

Sam already knew what the plan would be, "I know." He agreed, closing up his laptop and putting it away before bringing his folder back – taking out one last article. "One more thing." This time, it was about a survivor from one of the attacks. "In '59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. He was just a kid; he barely made it out of the woods alive."

Kathy grinned over to him when she saw a knowing look in his eyes, "You already have a name, don't you?" She could see a little smirk cross his face; he always did the best research. They knew where to go next…

…

They arrived at the survivor's run-down house not long after they left the bar – it was dark now, night had fallen. The man they were going to speak to was elderly now; this incident did happen all the way back in 1959. They were stretching it a little to see if this man could remember something traumatic from his childhood. Sometimes kids block out that kind of thing; to keep the demons away – but for Katherine, she could never let that memory go. Her limited childhood was with her forever.

"Look, ranger," The man named Shaw spoke, "I don't know why you're asking me about this – it's old news." The man let them in to the apartment before wobbling back over to his sofa chair, he was an old, overweight and lonely man. That attack left him parentless and alone; everyone he knew had died that day in 1959. "Besides, it's in the public records." He blew on the cigarette in his mouth, "My parents got mauled by a –" Sam cut him off.

"Grizzly?" His tone was skeptical and the old man knew it. "That's what attacked them?"

Shaw paused in his steps, slowly taking out the burning cigarette between his lips. He slowly turned to give the siblings a nod; but this nod was slightly uncertain, like he didn't truly know what he had seen that day. His memory was starting to leave him because of his age, but that day was one he could never forget.

Katherine knew they had hit a point, "The other people that went missing that year-" She began, walking forward a little, "- those were bear attacks too?" Shaw stayed silent, just slowly looking to the ground with something that looked like long-building shame. "What about all the people that went missing this year?" She raised her eyebrow in question as the man lifted his head over to her, "Same thing?"

"Look," She finally sighed, glancing over to her brother. Kathy could tell this man had seen something that day – she had seen the same look on so many people she had tried to help during her other cases. These people had seen something, but they didn't know how to comprehend what they saw. "If we're able to figure out what we're dealing with – we have a good chance at stopping it before someone else gets hurt."

This time Shaw gave a small disbelieving scoff, not completely certain of their abilities, "I seriously doubt that." He grunted, shaking his head at her words. "Anyways," He continued, slowly sitting down in his sofa chair with a ' _humph_ ', "I don't see what difference it would make." He put out his cigarette into the tray in front of him, "You wouldn't believe me anyway." He shook his head sadly, "No one ever did."

Sam tried to work his ' _puppy dog eyes_ ' on the man; they obviously needed to know what this creature was and maybe this man had been able to see it with his very own eyes. "Mr. Shaw…" He slowly walked forwards with a begging look to his facial features, sitting on the arm of the opposite sofa – Kathy went to stand behind him, wanting to hear every word, knowing the man would cave in.

Like expected, Mr. Shaw gave in. The man gave a small sigh of defeat before explaining. "Nothing." He stated, looking as puzzled as the day it all happened in '59. "It was moving too fast to see and it hid too well. I heard it, though." Pictures of his past flashing through his mind, "A roar. And it didn't come from a man or animal; none that I've ever heard."

"It came at night?" Shaw nodded as Sam began to ask small questions, "Got inside your tent?" At this, the old man shook his head with wide eyes; "It got inside our cabin." He replied back, his voice shaking.

"I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in." He continued, his body clenching in fear on the sofa chair, "It didn't smash a window or break the door … it unlocked it."

Katherine's eyes widened at that; there were very few possibilities floating around in her head now but even then some of them didn't make sense. She shared a look with her brother that said _'this is going to be trickier than we thought'_.

"Do either of you know a bear that could do something like that?" Shaw sniffed, "I didn't even wake up until I heard my parents screaming."

Sam frowned, "It killed them?" This was something they needed to know in order to identify what this creature was.

"No, it just dragged them off into the night." The man shook his head in response, "Why it left me alive…" He paused for a moment, shaking his head again more numbly – not understanding why he was actually alive right now, "…I've been asking myself that ever since." He remembered about the large cut that he gained from the creature; the scar that left him bleeding near death. "It left me this though." He pulled down the top of his shirt a little, just enough so they could see the large 4-claw mark going down his left shoulder.

"There's something evil in those woods." He told them. From that day his parents died; the day of his near death – he had never been out there again, he had made sure to live as far away from those woods as he possibly could. He was literally scared to death of them. "It was some sort of a demon."

…

The siblings thought about what the old man had said as they walked through the apartment corridors; ready to leave this place and find somewhere to sleep. "Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors." Katherine immediately ruled out those. "They'll just go through the walls."

Sam nodded in understanding, "So it's gonna be something else - something corporeal."

Kathy looked to her brother with a cocked eyebrow, a smirk filling her lips, "Corporeal? – Well, thank you Professor." She teased.

"Shut up," He shook his head, trying to get a real answer from her. "So, what do you think?" Nothing came to mind for him.

Katherine became serious again, "With claws like that – the speed it moves … it could either be a skinwalker or black dog." She shrugged, a sigh reaching her lips, "Honestly, I'm not sure – I'll have to go through dad's journal again; maybe he's found something else like this before." She paused, "But we know it's solid – which in my book, means it can be killed." She sent him a wide smile at her own statement before retreating out of the building's door.

…

Katherine made it back to the Impala; she unlocked the trunk and opened it – grabbing a bag before shoving a variety of weapons inside when she lifted the cover. She heard Sam coming up from behind her. "We can't let that Haley girl go out there." He told her, knowing this wouldn't turn out good if that girl was to come. It could ruin everything. He stood next to her, picking out several knives that might be a good idea to take.

"Really?" Kathy retorted sarcastically, "So, what are we going to tell her? Sorry, you can't go because of a big bad scary monster running around the woods."

Sam nodded, completely serious. "Yes."

His sister scoffed back, looking up at him disbelievingly, "Her brother is missing, Sam." She stated the obvious. "She's not just going to sit around when her brother could be in trouble." She made a sigh, already knowing what was going to happen tomorrow morning. "Here's how I'm working it – we go with her, keep our eyes peeled out for our fuzzy friend and we'll do what we need to do to get this job done. Is that okay with you?" She zipped up the bag, taking it out with her as she stood up straight.

The irritation in Sam's veins were coming back again, "So finding dad isn't enough?" He slammed both the weapons cover and the trunk down, hard. "Now we have to babysit too?"

Katherine just stood there again, waiting for him to stop talking. She just looked at him with concern; this was a bigger burst of emotions than before; back at the Ranger's station. "What?" He questioned in an annoyed manner, seeing her staring at him weirdly.

She just shook her head, giving him a shrug but still looked at him. "Nothing." She threw the bag over to him, hard enough to make him grunt and bend over slightly. "Let's find a place to crash for the night; and in the morning we'll help Haley find her brother. End of, Sammy." She gave him a hard look; she didn't like that he was taking out his anger partly on her. She did nothing to gain this from him; all she wanted for him was that revenge - but she knew from experience. Revenge didn't come straight away; it came with patience and planning.

She just hoped her brother would be able to get a handle on those emotions before they cripple him – watching him like this was hard enough.

 **Love it? Hate it? Please let me know…**


	6. Wendigo - Part 2

**Polyvore clothing, 'Katherine Winchester - Wendigo 2'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Wendigo – Part 2**

The next morning Sam and Katherine arrived at the edge of the forest, a small parking area nearest to the Collin's house – Haley had mentioned before they left that that's where they would be this morning to meet their guide. They were parked in a shady area, a couple of feet away from where Haley and her younger currently stood. Next to them, was an older man in his 30's; he had with him a large rifle you would use to hunt a bear with. That must be the guide Haley had talked about yesterday. All three of them had they're hiking gear together and ready.

Katherine and Sam got out of the Impala; all they had with them was the bag of weapons they packed last night. Haley, Ben and the guide just stood there looking at them, pausing in what they were doing.

Kathy looked over to them, "You three have room for two more?" She called over.

Haley smiled a little, "You want to come with us?" She questioned; starting to look thankful … until she realised that this Katherine and Sam hadn't brought anything with them other than a small bag between them. They hadn't brought any hiking equipment; nothing to help them survive through the night. The realisation came to her; they weren't rangers at all!

The guy behind Haley looked a little irritated about their arrival, "Who are these guys?"

Haley rolled her eyes slightly before looking over her shoulder, "Apparently, this is all the Park Service could muster up for the search." She didn't really like this guy; Roy. He had some major issues when it came to pride.

Roy raised an eyebrow, looking between the two up and down, "You're Rangers?" He repeated what she said. No way were these two rangers with the way they were looking.

Katherine gave him a short nod, "That's right." Sam walked past, going over to stand further up the hill.

Haley placed her hands on her hips, looking skeptical, "And your hiking dressed like that?" Pointing to Katherine's attire that had nothing to do with the clothing you would wear into a forest. She didn't have a problem with the choice in shoes – they were nearly exactly the same combat boots as her own. But this woman was wearing black jeans and a nice enough top you'd wear to go out every day with. The jacket was okay too; it was something she would wear on a hike also.

Kathy looked down at herself, but noticed what Haley was wearing. She gave a shrug, "Sweetheart, jeans are really not my thing – you'd have to catch me dead to wear shorts." She gave the girl a teasing smile before walking past her towards the forest – going over to stand next to her own little brother.

Roy narrowed his eyes to her in displeasure, "You think this is funny?" He quipped, his eyes moving with her as she strolled past him. "It's a dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother may be hurt." She was just one of those stupid girls who thought she could handle anything.

Katherine was turned to him by the end of this speech; she just cocked an eyebrow over to him – not scared of his words. "Oh, believe me." She started, looking completely knowledgeable as she spoke. "I know damn well how dangerous a place like this can be." She glanced over to Haley with a serious tone, "We just want to help find their brother, that's all." She told the guide. She didn't like the vibe he gave out; he looked cocky and much too like a gun lover. She was as well, but there was a very good reason for that.

Haley stood there, just looking at the two fully again. Katherine seemed really sincere in wanting to help find her brother; she could trust in that. But there was a hidden agenda that she couldn't quite figure out. And she was going to find out…

…

It was an hour into the forest by the time anyone decided to talk; this walk to Blackwater Ridge was going to take another few hours at least. All five travelers were walking in a line; following each other to make sure they stuck together without leaving anyone behind. Roy was first, Katherine stuck to being second and Sam made sure to keep at the back behind Haley and Ben.

"So, Roy." Katherine finally spoke up, catching up a little to the guide so he could hear her speak. She was bored honestly, walking through a forest wasn't at all exciting to her. "You do any hunting with that rifle of yours?" She inquired.

Roy nodded, not looking back at her – he was too focused on the surroundings, making sure nothing was going to startled them – or hurt them. "Yup. I do a lot of hunting actually." They weren't in a bad part of the forest - yet; there were just a lot of bushes and several very large trees surrounding them. You did have to be careful of things on the forest floor though – anything could be sitting there … waiting.

"Is it just Bambi you hunt? Or do you hunt the brother bears too?" It was the only two animal cartoons she could think of right now. She knew there were more – but she didn't see Tom and Jerry running around in the trees.

Roy seemed to ignore the cartoon references, "I hunt mostly bucks, and sometimes bear when I get the chance."

"Tell me," Katherine was now walking slightly ahead of him, within arm's length, "Have Bambi or papa bear ever tried to hunt you down?" She grinned slightly, that would have been a sight to see. He would definitely deserve that treatment in her book. Roy didn't give an answer, all his did was grab the back of Kathy's jacket and drag her backwards. Katherine was a little confused, her eyes were narrowed in suspicion – she didn't like strange men touched her. "Why'd you do that Roy?"

Roy ignored her again, grabbing a stick from the ground as he released his grip from her clothing. He thrust it into the ground; and a loud snap echoed through the trees – the Collin's siblings were the only ones to jump at the sound. Kathy looked down with her eyebrows raised curiously; Roy had just set off a bear trap – something she was about to put her foot in. She'd never say it out loud; but she silently thanked him for saving her leg.

Roy looked up to her smirking smugly, "You should watch where you're stepping, _ranger_." And just as quick as it came, Katherine felt no thankfulness for this bastard. He's just a smug asshole. He turned to continue down the path they were going – leaving Kathy standing there with the others.

Katherine gave herself a humourless smile, looking over her shoulder to the other three, "A bear trap." She shook her head, "Poor bears." She turned back, continuing with the others to follow Roy before they lost him through the trees.

…

It was a little while later that talking began again; Haley had caught up to Katherine this time – unable to keep in what she was thinking about her and Sam. "You didn't pack any provisions." She stated the obvious first, walking right by the brunette's left shoulder - while trying to avoid hitting any of the fallen logs underneath her feet. Kathy's head was turned to her only slightly, she still looked in front of her but she could hear the raven head clearly. "You guys are carrying a duffle bag." Looking back at the small weapons bag hooked over Sam's shoulder. "You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?!" Haley grabbed Kathy's arm, twisting the brunette around so they were now facing each other – stopping each other from walking away.

Katherine sighed, glancing over to her brother – she gave him a nod in which he understood. They were to continue while Kathy sorted this mess out. She knew this girl wouldn't be so dumb as to think they were actually rangers; they really knew nothing about being a ranger, they move around too much in different states to be really interested. Sam walked forwards past them, following Ben and Roy – glancing back every couple of seconds to his sister. He didn't want to get split up from her.

Kathy slipped her hands into her pockets, looking truthful as she explained. "Sam and I are brothers, and we're looking for our father." She shrugged, not looking completely sure. "He might be here, we have no idea. But, I just figured you and me, we're in the same boat."

Haley looked at this woman for a moment; that's why she could see a resemblance between the two back at home. They really were siblings. Part of her felt hurt that they had lied to her; but she got it – she understood why they did what they did. She would have done the same thing if it were necessary. "Why didn't you tell me from the start?"

"I'm telling you now." Katherine just shrugged in reply, they've never exactly had good experiences with telling the truth. Her lips quirked, "You know, this is probably the most honest I've been to anyone outside of my brother – you should be honoured." Haley seemed to look a little better now that everything was out in the open, "Are we okay, then?" Kathy looked a little hopeful.

Haley was silent for a moment; the two siblings weren't a threat to them or Tommy – they were really trying to help them find him. They were just looking for one more person. "Yeah," She nodded finally, "Yeah, okay."

"I did pack provisions; you know." Katherine said, tilting her head. She grabbed a big, half eaten bag of skittles out into the open from her jacket. "See." She showed Haley the bag, reaching in before throwing a couple of the sweets into her mouth. Haley had raised eyebrows – how were they provisions? "Ever since Sam gave me a bag for my birthday three years ago, I haven't been able to get enough of them." She gave the raven head one last grin before turning away, continuing their trek up the mountain. Haley couldn't help but laugh a little at that, following Kathy closely behind after her.

…

All five of them stopped at the top of a small hill part of the mountain; still surrounded with hundreds of bushes and trees. Roy stopped, looking around at the surrounds. "This is it." He announced, his body turning to the other four behind him. "Blackwater Ridge."

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asked, stepping further beyond Roy. He and Katherine had switched places when she and Haley talked – as long as one of them was at the back and the other at the front, they were good to protect the other three if the need came.

Roy grabbed his coordinate machine out of his sleeveless coat; he clicked through it to find where they were at. "Thirty-five at minus 111." Those were the same numbers the Winchester father left his son and daughter. This was definitely the place they were looking for; but nothing pointed towards their father having been here now or ever.

Katherine moved away from the Collin's siblings; going over to her own. Sam was looking at the set of trees in front of him with a frown – something was up, and she knew exactly what it was. "You hear that?" She questioned, hearing only silence. For a forest; there should be at the minimum – some buzzes from various insects, maybe even a stray squirrel here and there … but there was nothing ... there was absolute silence.

Sam nodded, "Yeah." Finding it odd as well – something was definitely up with this area. "Not even crickets."

Roy put away his machine, "I'm gonna go take a look around." He announced, seeing no reason they shouldn't start looking now for that Collins brother.

Sam just glanced to him, "You shouldn't go off by yourself." He didn't like the guy, but really, he was still one of the people who didn't know what he and his sister did. Meaning he didn't deserve to die at this creatures hands.

"That's sweet." The cocky smile came back to Roy's face, "Don't worry about me." He held up his rifle before moving past the two sets of siblings – walking into the bushes by himself.

Katherine scoffed to herself, shaking her head at his ignorance. She turned to the other three, "Alright, everyone sticks together from now on." She gestured her head over to the way Roy went, "Let's go."

…

The four of them had just passed a large tree when they heard Roy calling out to them, "Haley!" He shouted, hoping he was loud enough to be heard from a good enough distance, "Over here!" They were instantly on the move – breaking into a run as they followed the way Roy's voice came from.

As soon as they reached him; each were met with a devastating sight. Tents and camping gear were ripped to shreds, blood was splattered over them and everything was a mess – like a struggle had occurred. No bodies or body parts could be seen – the whole section was human-less apart from them. Haley's face was full of horror; she recognised the second tent to the left – it was Tommy's. She could even see his phone lying on the ground with a smashed screen, right next to the ripped up camping chair he borrowed from her.

Roy was looking over everything, "Looks like a grizzly to me." They were savage beasts in his mind – he knew they could cause this kind of devastation. Katherine and Sam weren't too sure themselves; both were sure that if it were a grizzly, there would be human matter and other bodily parts lying around. They were sure the bear would have made a nest here – make all those bodies a long-term feeding plate. The animal wouldn't be able to eat three humans or more at one time. It's only been a couple of days; it would have still been here.

Katherine looked over to one spot, her lips pursing in concentration – her eyes were narrowed to one particular spot when she approached it. There were slight drag marks on the ground. She started to follow its trail, leaving Sam with the other three for a moment.

Haley was starting to hyperventilate, her brother had to be here … he had to be alive! "Tommy!" She screamed, trying to make her voice heard through the trees. Maybe he was nearby? Hurt and needing some help? "Tommy!" She threw off her backpack, needing the weight off her shoulders for a bit after that long trek.

Sam was instantly by her side, needing her to be quiet. He knew there was a huge chance this wasn't a bear – meaning whatever it was, was still out there – waiting. "Shh." He tried to quieten her down.

Haley didn't understand why she couldn't yell out her brother's name – he could be hurt! "Why?" She questioned him at once, needing to know why they couldn't try and find her brother like that.

Sam didn't look at her, instead he was gazing around the tree line. "Something might still be out there – we don't want to let it know we're here." He informed her. This place the camp was set up at; it was surrounded by a large line of trees circling around it – the camp was set up within a space between the trees.

Haley never thought about that; seeing sense in what he said – she stayed quiet, trying to figure out what to do next. She knew one thing though; there was no way she was leaving this forest without her older brother by her side.

"Sam!" Katherine's voice carried over to them from beyond the trees. No one had actually realised of her disappearance until now. Her voice wasn't desperate or in need of help; she just wanted her brother to come to her and see something.

…

Sam found his sister crouching beside a large tree; he stepped over a large root and bent down next to her. "The bodies were dragged all the way from the campsite." She pointed out the drag marks out to him, you could see them a little more clearly here than you could by the tents. She gestured to the ending of the drag marks just a little further, "But here, the tracks just stop."

Katherine sighed, getting up from her position, "It's strange." She can't physically remember anything that could do this – unless … it could be a Wendigo. But nah, they don't come this far west. "I'll tell you one thing though," She said, looking to the brother next to her with a final look. "This was no Skinwalker or Black Dog."

…

The siblings made it back to the wreckage; Sam went over to stay with Ben while Katherine made her way over to Haley – the raven head was crouched down by the second wrecked tent, carefully holding the smashed-up phone in her hands. She had small tears running down her cheeks; she couldn't see how her brother would have survived through all this – she wanted so badly to hope, but it was hard when there was nothing left but a bomb site of blood and rubbish … nothing to give her a sign that he was indeed alive.

Katherine bent down next to her, knowing the feelings this girl was going through. "There's a chance he's still alive, you know." She knew that sometimes hope was a bad thing to work with – but in most cases, people needed it to survive. And that's what she wants Haley to have right now – she needed to be strong for herself and that little brother of hers over by Sam.

Haley was about to say something back; but a very loud scream from the very familiar voice of Tommy echoed through the forest. The Collin's siblings were up within a second; knowing that it was their brother calling for help. As for the other three; Katherine had instantly grabbed her gun out from behind her back, under her belt – Sam didn't have a weapon but was ready to face anything and as for Roy, he had his rifle clutched in his arms ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

All five of them were running towards the repeating voice; jumping over things and pushing their way through branches. They reached another clearing in the area; much like the camp was set up in. When they stopped, there were no sounds – nothing to even indicate that someone was even there or had even been there.

Haley didn't understand; where was her brother? "It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?"

Katherine and Sam looked around warily; something didn't feel right. "Everyone back to camp." Sam said to everyone after a moment, feeling a little dread fall into his stomach.

…

As soon as they arrived back to the camp; everything was gone – and by everything; that meant all their belongings and the original disaster site apart from a few scraps of rubbish. All their packs that were left on the floor were gone; all the supplies that had been brought up with them … were gone.

Haley's eyes were widened in shock, "Our packs?!" Wondering who the hell took them.

Roy looked pissed; he huffed in an irritated manner, "So much for my GPS and satellite phone." He bent down to the place he put his pack; still holding his trusty rifle in his arms.

Haley was starting to look annoyed too, "What the hell is going on?" Who in their right mind would take all their stuff?

"It's smart." Sam commented, looking around the area – trying to find anything that could help them determine what this thing is – but already, he had a very good guess as to what this creature was. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help." He shook his head; why did they have to get into this mess? All he wanted to do was find his dad!

Roy stood back up, looking angry with a raised eyebrow, "You mean someone … some _nutjob_ out there just stole all our gear?"

Sam went over to his sister; needing to tell her what his theory was about this thing. "I need to speak with you-" He told her in a low tone, not wanting the others to hear. "-in private." She nodded, gesturing over to just inside the tree line. No one would be able to hear them from over there.

Together they walked into the forest, glancing back every couple of seconds to make sure the other three weren't trying to follow. As soon as they got to a covered spot, Sam turned to his sister – holding out his hand. "Let me see dad's journal."

Kathy looked at him strangely but did what he asked anyway, she reached into her jacket – pulling out the old book before giving it to him. She always made sure to have a pocket inside all her jackets to carry things – it was a little tight getting that book in but it's always worth keeping with you at all times.

Sam flicked through the dozens of pages; trying to find one specific one. "All right," He finally found it. "Check this out." Showing her the page he needed her to see; it was a page all on a Wendigo. His sister nodded, a knowing look on her face.

"Sam, I've already thought of this – there's never been one this far west before." Katherine denied; but it did seem strange with the resemblance to this creature. Maybe this really was a Wendigo?

"Think about it, Kathy." Sam insisted, he was sure this is what they were hunting. "The claws from that man's chest and the wrecked tents. The mimicking of a human voice…"

Kathy sighed, shaking her head – this was a Wendigo. "Great." She made a dreary smile, holding up her gun. "That means guns are useless." She put the gun back in her belt.

Sam passed the journal back to his sister, "We need to get these people to safety." He told her seriously; they won't be able to hunt this thing properly while babysitting a bunch of people. Katherine couldn't disagree on that; a Wendigo can be a piece of work and real tricky thing to kill.

…

Sam was back at the camp site first, "All right, listen up," He announced, getting the other three to look over to him, "It's time to go." He wasn't about to let these people get killed by this thing – and he knew his sister wouldn't either. "Things have gotten…" He tried to think of a good word for the situation, "…more complicated."

Haley couldn't believe what she was hearing, "What?" She questioned in disbelief, looking over to Katherine to see if that's what she was thinking as well. The brunette had been the one to push her into hoping her brother was still alive – if they left now, he'll definitely be dead. What were those two doing?

Roy scoffed, "Don't worry," He said, looking over to Haley and Ben, "Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it." He acted like nothing can kill him – like he was skilled enough to take on anything in these woods.

Sam didn't like his attitude, "It's not me or my sister I'm worried about." He shook his head, turning to man with the pride problem, "If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad." He turned back to everyone else, "We need to leave. Now."

Roy turned towards him fully, "One, you're talking nonsense." He smirked, "Two, you're in no position to give orders."

Katherine narrowed her eyes towards Roy; not liking how he was talking to her little brother, "Relax." She ordered.

Sam wasn't backing down, "We should have never let you come out here in the first place, all right?" Roy was looking between the two Winchester siblings; wondering how they thought they owned this adventure/hunting party. "We're trying to protect you."

"You?" The man snorted, seemingly amused but those choice of words, "Protect me?" His veins were now bubbling with annoyance and anger – he didn't like anyone trying to control what he did or what he could do. There was no way he was going to let two kids make him double back because of someone taking their stuff. He was going to hunt them down and give them what they deserved. He slowly moved forwards, trying to look menacing, "I was hunting when your mommy was still kissing you good night." At that, both Winchesters were clenching their fists – Katherine more than Sam in this instance because she could remember her mother and every detail of who she was.

"Yeah?" Sam countered, inching forwards towards him as well. "It's a damn near perfect hunter." Roy was certainly confused as to why they were saying 'it' every time but he didn't care about that right now. "It's smarter than you." Sam couldn't help but smirk a little as he continued, "And it's gonna hunt you down unless we get your stupid, sorry ass out of here."

Roy barked a laugh at that, "You know you're crazy right – the pair of ya!" Looking over to the sister as well who stood there with narrowed eyes. She wasn't about to stop her brother from saying those things – it's exactly what she would say to a man like this. He needed to get it in his mind that this creature was in way over his head.

"Yeah?" This man was going too far – Sam knew he and his sister weren't crazy and he didn't like people saying they were, "Well, have you ever hunted a Wen-" He was sharply cut off by his sister pushing him back from Roy, a stern look on her face.

Katherine had pushed her brother away from the man, "Chill out." She told him, he needed to cool down. That last part was pushing it – Roy may have said they were crazy, but she wasn't about to let them know what they were really hunting … not right now at least.

Haley was saying something similar to Roy; getting pissed off that they were fighting about something so stupid when her brother was still out there – missing and probably hurt. "Stop!" She finally exclaimed, looking around to everyone who was now turned towards her. "Everybody just stop it!" Her words coming out in a protest. Haley turned to Katherine and Sam, "Look, Tommy might still be alive." She looked stubborn but also emotional, "I'm not leaving here without him."

Sam and Kathy turned their heads towards one another; sharing a look that said _'No way out'._ Looks like they were staying; this means they'll have to let them in on what is actually lurking out in those woods. "It's getting late." Kathy finally said, making a note in her mind for later to share everything about what a Wendigo was. They needed to know what they were getting into – whether they want to believe the story or not; they'll have to if they want to survive the night. "This thing is a good hunter by day … but an unbelievable hunter by night." She shook her head, glancing to her brother, "We'll never beat it – not in the dark anyway."

Sam nodded, "We need to settle in and protect ourselves." Watching his sister begin to grab sticks, they needed to draw symbols into the ground – protective symbols.

Haley was confused beyond belief, but she felt herself ask. "How?" She didn't know why she believed them – but they really did seem to know what they were doing. All Roy was doing was standing around looking miffed – probably because Katherine and Sam had essentially taken over this recovery team.

…

Night had fallen; everywhere was dark – Haley and Ben were able to start up a small fire in the middle of their camp site; thanks to the lighter hidden in Katherine's back pocket of her jeans. Both Winchesters were carving in the symbols still around the area; intent on not letting this creature get anywhere near them. Over the past hour, both siblings have been giving the other three the basics of what a Wendigo can do – they haven't shared the history of the creature yet, and how someone can become one. They were going to leave that for later if it was needed.

Haley watched as Katherine bent down near the fire, carving in yet another symbol into the dirt. "Again, that's-" She still couldn't seem to wrap her head around this idea of something non-animal / non-human could do something like this.

Katherine was patient, "Anasazi symbols." She knew the girl was trying to understand the best she could – at least she wasn't acting like Roy – the skeptic. "They'll provide protection; a Wendigo can't cross over them."

Roy snorted a laugh over to the side; he was guarding around the edges holding his rifle up high. Haley and Ben weren't liking him anymore – he was becoming more of an annoying person to be around, he wasn't exactly doing anything to help either. All he was doing was making trouble for them and doing their heads in.

Katherine ignored the laugh. "No one like a skeptic, Roy." She revealed, not interested in getting into a fight with him. He was just an arrogant bastard in her eyes. She glanced over to her brother as the last symbol was complete; she saw him sitting on a large log to the right, just inside the protected circle – he was looking out into the trees. She couldn't see his face, but by his body language – it indicated to her that he was upset, not feeling part of the group – lonely.

She got up from her crouch, going over to him to see what was wrong. She went over to sit next to him on the log; leaning forwards so her elbows hit her knees, "You wanna tell me why you're acting up so much lately?" She started saying; maybe she could finally help her brother release some of this tension and hatred building up inside of him. "What's going on in that big head of yours, Sammy?" Her voice was soft, yet it didn't push.

Sam was shaking his head slowly, still playing with the carving stick in his hands – pushing it around in the dirt. "Kath-"

"No." Katherine stopped him immediately, knowing exactly where that tone was taking him. He was going to tell her that he's fine; that he didn't need to be worried about. News flash; she was deeply worried about him. "Don't you dare tell me that you're fine – don't lie to me." She watched her brother look down, "You're acting like a powder keg, man … like me on a usual day – and that is definitely not you." She smiled a little bit, "I'm supposed to be the one acting like a bitch – both cause I'm a girl and because that's just how my personality works."

There was a moment of silence, but Kathy knew she had finally gotten to him – even just a little. "Dad's not here." Sam finally spoke up, still looking forwards with a blank look on his face. A tick of emotion was starting to show, but this time it was desperation seeping in, "I mean, that much we know for sure, right?"

Katherine couldn't disagree; if their father had been here at some stage – he would have left them a message. "That's true." She nodded, looking sure of that assumption. "Honestly Sam, I don't think dad's ever been to Lost Creek – even after leaving us these co-ordinates."

Sam eventually looked over to her, looking even more desperate – the need to find their father even stronger by the more he spoke. "Then let's get these people back to town and we'll hit the road." He felt stuck in this place and frustrated that they were wasting time finding something that shouldn't even be here in the first place. Right now, they could be finding their father in another state not hanging around in the forest, waiting to kill a Wendigo. "We can go find dad. I mean, why are we even still here?" He threw the stick to the floor, anger slowly building up again like before. He didn't like feeling this way – but he didn't know what else to do or how to stop it from boiling over.

Katherine grabbed the journal out of her jacket again; moving to crouch down in front of Sam – getting him to look up at her. "This is why." She held up the book filled with horror creatures no one other than hunters knew about. "This book." She tapped the cover lightly, "This is dad's single most valuable possession." This was the one thing that was going to keep her brother going; a mission to keep this mind of Jessica and their father while they find him. "Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here." Sam was carefully listening; looking down at the journal with an expression Kathy couldn't quite make out. "And he's passed it onto us."

Kathy sighed, glancing back down to the journal, "I think dad wants us to pick up where he left of – you know, saving people and hunting things." She paused, "The Family Business." She was okay with that idea; she just wasn't so sure how well Sam would go for it.

Sam shook his head, not understanding any of this – how could Kathy think this was what their father wanted. "This is making no sense." He ran his hands through his hair; looking frustrated. "Why doesn't he just call us? To tell us what he wants? Where he is?"

Katherine honestly couldn't answer that – she never was able to figure out how her father's mind worked. "I really don't know, Sam." She told him, shaking her own head. She gave a small shrug with her shoulders, "The way I see it…" She continued, seeing how there was only one possible solution to go through until they did find their father. "…dad's given us a job to do and I for one, intend on doing it." There really was no life outside of hunting for her anyway; hunting was all she had. She knew nothing else.

"Kath…" Sam's voice broke; he couldn't do that – he needed to find dad – he needed to end the son-of-a-bitch's life like it did to his Jessica. There was nothing else he could think of. "…no. I gotta find dad – I have to find Jessica's killer." A tear started to run down the corner of his eye as he looked down for a moment, "It's the only thing I can think of."

Katherine grabbed onto her brother's arm comfortingly, "Sam, I promised you the day she died – that we would find it … and that we would end it." She had a hard look of promise in her eyes. She squeezed his arm gently, letting him know that she was there for him … always. "Listen to me." She told him, about to give him some advice that will carry on with him for a long time – something that will hopefully bring her geeky brother back for good. "You have to prepare yourself because this search could take a while – I mean, it's been 22 years since mom died and we still haven't found the thing that killed her. Just like you said back on the bridge in Jericho." She paused. "All this anger…" She shook his arm lightly in an effort to get him to understand her worry for him, "…you can't keep it building up like this – it's going to kill you. Believe me, I know." She used to have a big problem with keeping all her emotions in too – and secrets, but luckily her father was able to give her this advice just after Sam left two years ago.

Katherine couldn't stress this enough, "You have to have patience, Sammy."

"How do you do it?" Sam shook his head, not understanding how his sister was completely into hunting all the time – nothing seemed to affect her like it did him. He knew she's had loss throughout her hunting life – but he could never understand how she could survive them; especially from the loss of their mother. He wasn't a hundred percent sure; but something in him knew that Kathy could remember that whole night like it happened yesterday. "How does dad do it?" He was trying so hard to stop himself crying, especially when the other three were sitting several feet away talking amongst themselves. His sister made all these emotions look so easy to deal with; he wanted to know how she did it. He wanted to learn how to do it himself.

' _With a lot of practice'_ Katherine muttered sadly in her head. She gestured over to Haley and Ben still sitting around the fire, "Well, for one – them." Getting Sam to look over to them, "I figure that – our family's a major screw up but, maybe we can help some others and prevent they're family from going to hell too." She smiled slightly, looking back over to her little brother. He was drinking in every word she was saying; taking them all to heart. "It makes the hunting life a little more bearable."

Sam let out a breath, really starting to feel a little better with this talk. Katherine was always the best person to talk to when it came to anything like this – dad was an atrocious person to talk to about anything, so Kathy was always the one to go to in need of help. Although this time; he never really asked for help – she just offered it and to be there for him in this difficult time.

Something else popped into Katherine's mind; something that always makes her feel better. "I'll let you in on something else that helps," She said, starting to form a grin on her lips. Sam looked towards her with interest in his features, "Killing as many so evil sons-of-bitches as I possibly can." Her brother started to look even better; he was even smiling a little at her last comment. He must have known she'd say something like that – it was a brotherly thing.

"Help me!" A voice screamed out of nowhere from the forest – jumping everyone up from their positions. Katherine and Sam were up instantly, immediately on high alert. The Wendigo was finally out to catch them properly; using the surroundings to his advantage. The siblings moved over to cover the other three – Haley and Ben were holding each other next to the fire but now standing and Roy was hovering over with his rifle at the ready. "Help!" The female Winchester had her gun raised up; she knew the bullets would never work but it was worth a shot to keep it away from them. The other kept a flashlight up; trying to see if there was anything lurking in the trees, but deep down he knew there would never be any sign of the Wendigo.

Katherine knew what the monster was doing, "It's trying to draw us out – to get someone to step out into the forest line."

Sam nodded, glancing over to the other three, "As long as we all stay put – we'll be safe."

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy gave his sarcastic comment. He didn't like staying put; this was just a person making fun of them – maybe these two siblings were in on the plan? He did look around warily though – a little afraid for his own safety if his mind had come up with the wrong conclusion.

"Help!" The voice was male; full of pain – but this time it wasn't Tommy, it was another man that they didn't recognise. Katherine and Sam had told them of what this creature could do – they tried to hope that this wasn't a real person getting hurt because of them staying inside this area. "Help me! Plea-" The voice was cut off by a scream; mixed with a loud hungry growl.

Roy couldn't help but really listen to the growl, "Okay," He finally gave in, taking a small step backwards, "That was definitely no grizzly." This thing really must be, what was it? A Wendigo?

"It's okay," Haley tried to comfort her shaking brother; not realising she was shaking herself with fear. "You'll be all right, I promise." She moved him and herself to sit beside each other by the fire again, making sure to sit next to one of those symbols Katherine had drawn in the dirt earlier.

Fast movements began moving in the bushes; small gushes of wind hitting them as a result. You could hear _'whoosh'_ sounds every time it moved. This Wendigo was drawing in for its prey; but knew it couldn't do much with those symbols on the ground stopping him.

Roy was trigger happy; he shot at least three times in the Wendigo's direction – a whine of pain hit their ears after the third bullet had been shot into the trees. "I hit it!" Roy exclaimed proudly; the look of success drilled into his facial features. He grinned before taking off after it in a run; hearing the creature move away from the camp site.

Katherine's eyes were widened in horror, "Roy, no!" She yelled after him – hearing that cry of pain and the bullet hitting the Wendigo. She should have taken that weapon away from him, how could she had been so stupid? She took off after him, hearing her brother following right behind her. She vaguely heard Sam telling Haley and Ben not to move from their spots – knowing that while they were away, the only thing protecting them were those symbols.

" _It's over here…"_ Katherine and Sam could hear Roy yelling, " _It's in the tre_ -" The voice suddenly cut off and everything went silent. The siblings broke through to another clearing in the trees; they paused in their movements much like they had done before when the Wendigo was copying Tommy's voice. Their breathing shallowed; their ears straining to hear anything that would indicate Roy being nearby … alive. But there was just nothing; there were no crickets, no screaming and no Roy with his trigger happy rifle. There was just no sound but their breathing … and they knew what had happened. Roy was gone.

 **Note: I will be working 10 hours a day until Sunday this week, so right now I'm not sure how many updates I will be able to get in for both this and 'The Storm Ignites'. I would love to finish this episode of by Friday for everyone and finish the first part to 'Dead in the Water' but Sunday. If I can get more done, I'll be completely amazed by myself. Anyway, here is the second part to this episode. I hope you like it. Now I really have to sleep, need to be up at 8 for work tomorrow … urgh…**


	7. Wendigo - Part 3

**My hopes went down the drain for last week, huh? I don't have long hour days until Saturday so I'm going to try my hardest to update a lot until then. Anyway, here we go.**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Wendigo – Part 3**

The next morning came fast; none of the remaining four had gotten a wink of sleep last night – black tinted bags were starting to show under their eyes because of this. For the Collin's siblings; they were too afraid of that thing coming back again, as for the Winchester siblings, they were ready to defend them if the need came.

All four of them were just sitting around; inside the protective barrier still. Katherine was taking a closer look at the claw marks embedded into one of the tree trunks and Sam was sitting idly in front of a chopped down tree stump over to the far side. Katherine had let him keep the journal with him for now; he had been looking through the book over and over again for some reason. But now he sat there; his mind reeling on everything his sister had said before Roy disappeared. He was figuring everything out in his head; taking her advice head on. He fiddled with the lanyard; the reminder of what's out there to hunt.

Haley looked troubled; she was on her knees, staring at the burnt out fire pit. "I don't…" She couldn't even describe what happened last night; everything was just starting to freak her out just a little. Ben was sitting there curled up slightly too; but he looked more accepting in the fact, but this could be because he was younger – a wider spread of imagination still in his mind. "I mean … these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real." She didn't understand how she could have gone her whole life not knowing about this other world – how are so many people not seeing it how they were now?

Katherine just gave her a sad look, turning away from the tree finally, "I wish I could tell you different." She really did. Now this girl was going to be frightened every night before she goes to bed; these two siblings and Tommy if he is still alive - those three have now been forced into this situation – the situation being, that they have to hold the knowledge of this horror for the rest of their lives. Sam and Katherine were used to it by now; but these parent-less three weren't.

Haley glanced to the crowd of trees warily, "How do we know if it's watching us?" She questioned, not liking the idea of being anywhere near that creature again – but knew she must, to get her brother back safely.

"We don't," Kathy shook her head, not going to keep these two in the dark anymore when it came to this Wendigo. Haley looked to her for some kind of comfort, "But we're safe for now." She bent down near the raven head, grabbing some sticks and snapping them, they needed things to stab with – all their weapons were taken by the Wendigo yesterday along with all the other stuff.

Haley tilted her head to the other female, curiosity running through her veins. "How do you know about this stuff?" She could tell this woman held a huge burden of knowledge; she seemed to know what to do – she was like a natural leader in some way. She felt comforted by the fact that Kathy and Sam were there; she just knew they'd get them out of this forest with Tommy soon.

Katherine paused at the question; no one's ever really asked that before. There was a second of nothing until she finally replied, "It's a family thing, I guess." She shrugged, looking up to Haley. "…we never really got a choice if you think about it."

Sam walked over; looking much better in his sister's opinion – he already looked lighter than before. He had the journal clutched in his hand, he didn't look so sad anymore, and he looked more … calm despite the situation they were in. "Hey," He announced his presence. All three heads turned to him; wearing small smiles. Both Collins siblings could tell that something happened to him last night – he was acting like a completely different person, and they liked this person better. "So, we have half a chance in the daylight." Haley and Ben began to stand up, Kathy following slowly. "And I, for one…" He paused, looking up to the sky for a second … trying to find the right terms to use, "…wanna kill this evil son-of-a-bitch."

As soon as that last part was spoken, his sister grinned – her lips twisting into a delighted look. He had used the same spoken words she had used last night – and she felt happy he had seemed to take her words to heart. "Well, you know I'm always in." Her reply came only a second later.

Sam turned to her, giving her a smile she hasn't seen since Jericho when she patted him hard on the chest. He looked more relax; still troubled though, but this was fine with her for now…

…

"A ' _Wendigo_ ' is a Cree Indian word." Sam was explaining to Ben and Haley; the journal was open to the page of the creature they were hunting. "It means ' _evil that devours'_."

"They're hundreds of years old." Kathy added. She held a red can of lighter fluid in her hands; knowing exactly what would kill this Wendigo. "Every Wendigo started off at the same place – a man." She moved past them, trying to find something that could help her with this little invention to make it more effective as a weapon. "Sometimes it's an Indian, but other times it can be just a simple frontiersman, a miner or even a hunter." She didn't like thinking that hunters can become the things they hunt – it would cripple her if she became something she hunted.

' _A man?'_ Haley thought, looking confused. "How does a man turn into one of those things?" She felt disgusted at the thought; now knowing this thing was once human like she and her brothers.

"Well, the same scenario keeps repeating itself," She started, picking something up from the ground, "There's a harsh winter, a guy finds himself starving … cut off from his supplies." She looked between her brother and the siblings. "He becomes a cannibal to survive-" Kathy shivered slightly inside at the idea, so did the others, "-eating the other members of his group or tribe to stay alive."

Ben remembered a lesson in his History class, "Like _'The Donner Party'_." He murmured, not looking comfortable with remembering that lesson.

Sam mutely nodded at that, he heard about that event too – it was tragic. "Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. These abilities including: speed, strength and immortality."

"And if you eat enough of it…" Kathy continued for her brother, "…over the years – you become this less-than-human thing."

"You're always hungry." Sam closed the journal, not seeing any more use for it now – everything had been said.

Haley swallowed hardly, "If that's true…" Her voice wobbled slightly, "…how can Tommy still be alive?" Ben stayed quiet, he wasn't much of a talker and he wasn't about to start now.

Katherine looked over her shoulder, sharing a look with her brother. Sam just nodded with a pensive look on his face – they're gonna have to know, they might as well if they want them to keep hoping. "You're not gonna like it." She finally turned back to Haley, looking a little cautious if she has to say what she didn't want next.

Haley wasn't backing down, "Tell me." She said, not letting her feelings get in the way of what she wanted to know.

Katherine gave herself an internal shrug, _'well_ ,' she thought, ' _here goes nothing'_. "More than anything in the world, a Wendigo always learns how to last long harsh winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time and when it's awake, it keeps its victims alive." She tried to think of a way that won't scar them too much, "It, uh, stores them so to say – so it can feed whenever it wants." Haley and Ben looked down, that didn't sound so promising to them about their brother's survival rate. "If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden and safe."

She glanced over to her brother again, "And we have to track it back there." She was going to make sure these two get their brother back – she was just uncertain on how they were going to find Tommy – alive … or dead.

If Haley wasn't pent up with determination before; she was now. Her shoulders were tense with anxiety, she had that stubborn look back in her eyes. "And how do we stop it?" Wanting to know how these things die. She wasn't about to let something take her brother and let it get away with this.

"Well," Kathy let out a small laugh; but this wasn't of amusement – this was because of the limits they were having to work with. "Guns are useless and so are knives." Ben was starting to look like a small child would when they were scared of what could happen. All he could think was ' _Then how are we supposed to get my brother back?'_

"Basically…" She continued, holding up the items she had gathered before. Everything they needed to torch this sucker was in her hands. "…we have to torch this thing."

…

Not long after the group talk, all four of them set out through the forest – tracking the Wendigo by following its claw marks scratched into the various trees and dirt coverings. Katherine was in front as usual, Haley was next and Ben was in front of Sam who stayed at the end of the line.

It wasn't until another ten minutes went by that Sam started to feel like something just wasn't right – the claw marks were just too trackable. They were almost crystal clear in pattern. "Kath." He called over to his sister, looking up at two claw marks together on a tree – there was blood in the lining of these marks, it looked real yet so much like a set up.

Kathy frowned, going over to her brother just as she stepped over another root. "What is it, Sammy?" She wondered. She made sure to keep Haley and Ben next to them – she wasn't going to let anything happen to them as well. She looked up to see the claws he saw looking at – then to several other trees that held the exact same pattern. "Oh…" She muttered dreadfully, knowing what her brother must have realised. How could they have been so blind?

Sam nodded quickly, glancing to her, "Those claw prints are so clear, Kathy." Worry riddled in his tone all of a sudden. "They're so distinct … these tracks are way too easy to follow." As soon as he had finished his sentence, a loud growl filled the air – followed by another familiar _'whoosh'_ in the bushes. The Wendigo must have realised they weren't being dumb anymore, just the complete opposite in fact. The growl seemed to echo in a circle, coming at them from all sides – they weren't able to determine which direction this creature was coming from. Bushes blew around them, something fast was moving at a lightning speed.

The Winchester siblings were so engorged in trying to find this thing, gazing at the surroundings - which they had to be jolted out of this state by Haley's petrified scream. Haley had been standing under a tree with a thick trunk; droplets of something wet had started to fall on her right shoulder – the body about to fall on her head was the thing that made her holler in fright. She dove out of the way on instinct, falling to the ground with a tumble.

Sam immediately went to Haley, helping her up and making sure she was okay. Kathy knew her brother could handle her so she went to the body to identify it; the body was Roy – and he had a broken neck and several bloody lacerations covered all over his body. "He's gone." She muttered, feeling a little bad for the man who was now dead. She wasn't a doctor or a morgue person, but as far as she could tell – the snap of his neck was the thing that killed him. The lack of flowing blood around the claw marks were what brought her to this conclusion – they were post-mortem.

The four were huddled together when Kathy made the decision – it was either fight or flight, and right now – she knew they'd never beat this thing in a fight within the trees. It literally had the higher ground. They'll end up like Roy with a similar broken neck. "Okay, run, run, run!" She shouted to each of them, pushing them in the direction of the camp. "Go, go, go!"

Each of them ran as fast as they could; their hearts pumping a mile a minute when their minds reeled at the thought of that thing being right behind them. They were all together until Ben tripped on a log; Haley and Katherine never heard this so continued while Sam went back for him, not even realising they were now split up in pairs.

Katherine and Haley skidded over another set of roots as they came to an abrupt halt; both of them gasping to a stop when something whizzed past them – stopping in front of them in all its glory. Katherine's eyes were widened heavily; the air inside of her leaving her body as she stood in front of this creature she had never faced before. But all she could think was, ' _That picture in dad's journal never gave it justice_ '. Haley was the opposite; she screamed bloody murder, it was filled to the brim with fear as she finally saw the creature that stole her older brother away from them.

Not even a second later … both women fell to the floor with a thump, darkness filling their minds and their consciousness failing. The Wendigo had got them.

…

Ben and Sam heard Haley's scream; they never heard Katherine scream though but her brother knew it would never come. She's never screamed once in her life – she was too strong-willed for her own good sometimes. They ran toward the direction – hoping to find them in time – but never did.

"Haley!" Ben yelled into the air as they reached the place that believed to hold his sister's scream location. He was scared for the sister who had screamed in terror.

Sam bent down, seeing something shine against the forest ground – he picked the object up carefully, realising it was the broken glass his sister had been holding – the thing that was going to kill the Wendigo. He swallowed hard, his body starting to shake with fear for his older sister's safety. He glanced around, seeing spots of blood on some of the crunched twigs – there wasn't much, but it was enough to tell him either one or both girls were hurt. "Kathy!" He shouted into the air, much like Ben had done – adrenaline pumped through his veins, his heart clenched painfully – this must be how his sister had felt every time he had gotten into trouble. And he couldn't stand one bit of it … he needed to find his sister alive, she was all he really had left - unless of course, you count an absentee father who doesn't seem to care too much.

…

Sam was pacing slightly, pinching the top of his nose in frustration as he tried to come up with some way to track this thing, who had his sister and Haley … and Tommy. He was looking around on the ground, trying to find some kind of sign they could follow – honestly, right now – he had no idea on how to find this thing and this pissed him off.

Ben was looking too; he looked up more to Sam, hoping the guy had some sort of plan, "If this thing keeps its victims alive … why would it kill Roy?" He had an inkling as to why, but he didn't want to say it out loud.

Sam scoffed, already knowing why the Wendigo had killed the man – some part of him didn't even blame it for his death. "Honestly, I'm making my bet that it's because Roy had shot at it. Things that get shot, they retaliate by killing the people they were shot by."

Ben shrugged a little, not being able to argue with that. He was about to ask something else until another something on the floor caught his attention. Several small colourful balls on the ground, going towards a direction through the trees. He crouched down by a small pile of them and picked one up with his fingers. It was small and oval, no bigger that a pea … it was a skittle.

"Sam!" He called Katherine's brother over. Realising that he had actually seen the woman eat some of these during the walk up to Blackwater Ridge. "They went this way."

Sam was by him his side almost instantly, looking down at what the boy had found. Ben passed him a couple of the colourful skittles covered in a slight bit of dirt – he chuckled, knowing these were his sister's sweets. She must have still had some left over from the walk. He could remember the first time he had gotten her hooked onto these things; it was a great day ... it really was. "These are so much better than breadcrumbs." He shared a happier look with the younger guy; both of them shining with slight relief. They had a trail to follow now – their siblings were going to be saved if they had anything to do with it.

…

The trail ended up being about a half an hour walk away; they continued to follow the trail, the skittles being scattered every few feet apart. Sam was surprised Katherine skill had a lot of those sweets left; she used to devour them within an hour once she got started on them. The skittles bought them to an old abandoned mine; and according to the rotten sign on the ripped open door boards – there used to be extremely toxic material within this place. He just hoped there wasn't any left to cause anyone damage health-wise.

Sam made sure to keep Ben close as they entered the dark tunnels; his eyes and ears peeled for anything that moved.

…

Sam had gotten out his torch as they entered further into the dark maze; there was a small light coming from somewhere down further – he had the urge to follow this light … maybe this was where the Wendigo was keeping his sister and Ben's siblings?

A growl filled the air, making Sam bring himself and Ben to the wall – trying to make themselves apart of this dark cavern to cover themselves from being seen. They looked over to the way they had come in – they saw a boney figure hobble towards that way – it was leaving the tunnels to go outside again. Ben could see enough; his eyes widened dramatically – a gasp was about to ripple through his throat but Sam stopped this, quickly putting his hand over the boy's mouth to keep him quiet. If this Wendigo caught them there – they would be dead instantly along with the siblings they were attempting to save before any damage could happen.

…

As soon as the monster had left, the two began to move again – they continued down the way they were originally moving … internally knowing that what they wanted to find was down this path.

Suddenly, a loud creaking sound appeared beneath them – and before they could remove themselves from the unstable wooden planks underneath them – both fell through it, tumbling to the solid ground beneath them with a thud.

Ben groaned, feel pain in his limbs after the fall – it definitely felt worse than falling off a bike. He slowly looked up; only to be met with a horrifying sight – he scrambled backwards with a gasp, hitting Sam in the process – in front of them were many skeletons – about twenty to thirty of them to be exact all different ages. They were spread out everywhere, all aged – decades old.

Sam gazed around the room they fell into – most of it was dark but there were small trickles of light coming from several passage ways. He turned to the right a little – seeing two people they were here to find. Haley and his sister. "Kathy." He breathed, his heart beginning to pump hard again when he saw her – his sister was hung up from the ceiling by her wrists, her feet not touching the ground – the was a bloody cut on the left side of her head and her clothes were all mucky and dusty. And the same went to Haley – she didn't seem to have scratch marks around her fists meaning she hadn't put up much of a fight; Katherine on the other hand was more injured, she had obviously fought hard to beat it but nothing had worked.

Ben was by Haley's side and Sam was by his sister's side instantaneously upon seeing them – happy to have found them, but also scared to find out if they were still breathing. Luckily, they were breathing normally – just knocked out. "Haley, wake up." Ben begged, shaking his sister – wanting her to wake up so he wasn't alone anymore. They still had to find Tommy.

Sam grabbed onto the front of his sisters jacket, shaking her a little but not too hard, he tapped her face lightly, "Kathy." His voice shaking with worry. "Kath, please – wake up." He needed his sister to wake up; he was beyond relieved when he figured out she was still breathing, but he was scared she was going to die like Jessica did. That fear had been building in him a lot more lately, especially after his girlfriend's demise.

Katherine started to recover from the darkness flooding her vision; she could hear someone familiar calling her name repeatedly. She moaned a little in pain; her head was pounding. What the hell had hit her so hard? Then she remembered; she and Haley had ran into that Wendigo they were chasing. Where was Haley? Was she alright? What about Sammy and Ben? The questions started to pump into her mind one after the other, not being able to stop them.

Sam's shoulders slumped in comfort, seeing his sister start to open her eyes – blinking slowly. "Hey," He smiled, letting out a small laugh of relief, "You okay?" Monumentally glad she was starting to wake up.

Kathy let out a small cough in response, "Yeah." She tried clearing her dry throat, "My head hurts like a bitch though." She complained before groaning again; feeling her brother cut her down from the ceiling – her wrists were sore, the ropes had been cutting off the blood supply to her hands making them feel numb and useless.

Sam carefully placed her over to the side, "I thought it killed you." His voice shook with a small crack; trying not to think about what would have happened if she really had been killed by that thing. Ben was able to get his sister woken up and sat next to Katherine on the ground, leaning against the rocky wall. "You sure you're alright?"

She nodded back, painfully in her movements – her whole body hurt. "Yeah," She lied, grimacing again, "Where is it?" Referring to the Wendigo that had stolen herself and Haley away from the forest and their brothers.

"It's gone, for now."

Ben was bent down helping Haley out of her ties when they looked up – seeing someone else hanging from the ceiling like she and Katherine had been. Tommy. He saw hanging there limp, his head was fallen forwards knocked out – but she couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. Ben helped her up, moving them both over to their older brother. Haley let out a sob; they had finally found him – and now they would know if that Wendigo had kept him alive. "Tommy." She breathed, leaning in closer as she let go of her younger brother. Just as her hand touched his cheek, she recoiled with a frightful shock – watching as Tommy startled awake with a strangled gasp. Tommy was alive.

Haley looked over to Sam, "Cut him down." Sam grabbed the knife he used to cut his sister and Haley down, going over to help the other two siblings.

Katherine smiled slightly, seeing Tommy still alive. She looked over to the side of her when she felt something solid hit her elbow; seeing many upon many bags and rucksacks full of stuff. It was all their stuff that had been taken yesterday; and more. She had to assume it was from the other missing campers too that went missing all this time. She slowly rummaged through them, wincing at a small pain in her extremities. One thing in that bag made her smile even more though. Flare guns.

"Check it out," She brought everyone's attention to her as she gradually made herself stand. She held up the instrument, "Flare guns." The bloodied mark on her head was starting to scar, her hair had fallen out of its bun meaning it fell down her shoulders; but she really couldn't care less right now. She was physically exhausted and couldn't wait for this day to be over.

Sam grinned, looking to his sister before nodding. "Those'll work." Too happy that he had his sister back but also that they had finally found a weapon that could end this thing once and for all – he didn't want to stay here any longer that's for sure.

…

Katherine stayed in front holding her side somewhat, grasping the flare gun in her other hand – Ben, Sam and Haley were sticking behind with Tommy who could barely walk right now. She was able to find two flare guns so the other was given to Sam just in case she wasn't able to take the shot. The Wendigo's growl hit their ears again; he was back from wherever he went before.

Kathy sighed, "Looks like someone's home for supper." She knew what was needed to be done – but this would mean they'd have to split up again.

Haley was worried, "We'll never outrun it." There was no way they were going to be any faster than that thing. They'll be dead before they hit the outside world again.

Katherine nodded, agreeing with her on that. She looked over the three Collins siblings before glancing at her own with a decided look; Sam turned to her seeing her staring at him. "You thinking what I am?" She questioned, she saw him turn to her with an uneasy look. Obviously knowing what her plan was going to be.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, trying to ignore the fact that his sister was going after this thing practically alone. He didn't like it one bit. "I think so."

Kathy took in a deep breath before turning to the other three, "Alright, listen to me." She spoke, using a tone that would get them all too seriously listen to her. "You're going to stay with Sam – he'll get you out of here."

Haley didn't like how this woman acting – she was ready for a fight; alone. "What are you going to do?"

She just shot the raven head a grin before turning away. She began to walk down a cave tunnel, opposite to the way Sam and the others were planning to go. "It's dinner time you bastard!" She yelled town the tunnels, walking down them slowly – trying to get this Wendigo to come to her and ignored the others. "I'm sure I taste pretty good – why don't you come and have a piece?!" By this time Katherine was out of site from the others – leaving them to escape without much sound.

…

Sam swallowed his nervous feelings about leaving his sister here; he held up his flare gun and checked around the corner of the next tunnel beside them. "Alright, come on." He told the others, seeing the coast was clear. The three siblings followed him obeyingly, not wanting to leave the person who held the only weapon that could kill this thing if it did come after them instead.

…

Katherine continued down the tunnel; not hearing any sign of this thing. "Hey!" She yelled again, wanting to get its attention drawn to herself; so the others could get out of this place safely. "I'm right here for the taking?!"

…

Sam and the others rounded a corner when the familiar growl echoed by them – it was still following them, ignoring Katherine and her attempts to bring it to her. Sam made the same decision his sister did – he wasn't about to leave her here, he decided. He turned to Haley, "Get them out of here." He told her, knowing she was more physically fit to be able to get them out of this hell hole.

Haley immediately shook her head, scared about leaving him there. If he left like Katherine, they wouldn't even have any protection from this thing. She didn't want to leave him either – she could tell how much Katherine wanted her little brother safe, away from the immediate danger. It was the same with her and her siblings.

Sam gave her a look, "Go." He persisted, pointing over to the way they needed to follow. He saw them moving away from him, hesitant at first but picked up their pace when there was another growl nearby.

Sam rested his back against the wall; gun held up at the ready – waiting for the Wendigo to pass him. For a moment there was nothing, making him frown in a confused manner. It wasn't until the crumbling of footsteps beside him sounded, that it snapped his head to the other way and towards the noise – his eyes widened and he fell back the other way, rolling over on the ground before shooting the flare into the direction of the Wendigo in front of him. It moved too quickly – the flare just hit the cave wall with a red spark.

Sam knew he couldn't do anything else; he only had one chance to end this thing and he blew it. He scrambled to his feet; sprinting towards the way he had sent the Collins siblings towards.

…

The others heard this commotion; Haley turned towards the way they had left Sam. "Sam?!" She screamed with a sobbing tone; this was all beginning to be too much for her to handle. ' _Was Sam alive?_ ' She kept asking herself; and was relieved when she saw him running towards them in a fast manner.

Sam was by their side in a couple of seconds after being seen, "Come on." He pushed them, they needed to get out of here. "Hurry! Hurry!" He glanced back to see the Wendigo behind them – it was taunting them by going slowly; it could take them out there and then – but it wasn't. It wanted them cornered so they couldn't escape – the Wendigo was playing with its food.

...

Katherine stalked up behind the Wendigo; she narrowed her eyes at it when she saw that it had cornered her brother and the others. She could see Sam spreading himself across Haley, Ben and Tommy with his arms and body; guarding them like a shield.

"Hey!" She called to the thing; successfully getting it to turn around. Not even a second later, she released the trigger on the flare gun – sending the burning flare into the Wendigo's stomach. The creature started turning into a fire on legs – it began to burn from inside to out; the result at the end being a dead corpse of ash and burnt skin.

She looked up to the other relieved faces, "First time killing a Wendigo – not bad, huh?" She grinned, happy that this was actually over now. She and Sam could get back on the road once the Collins were back out of the woods safely. Everyone smiled; all relived that this thing was officially gone for good.

…

They were finally out of the woods – quite literally and metaphorically. They made it back to the Ranger's station Katherine and Sam had gone too before this event; Ranger Wilkinson was also there taking statements from Ben; the one person who was telling everyone a very large grizzly was what had attacked them in the forest. Obviously lying because the real culprit was a Wendigo – something that shouldn't even exist but does.

Haley was standing next to Katherine; Tommy was being secured in the ambulance while they talked. "So really," She started, looking thankful to be out of those woods alive along with her brother intact. If the Winchester siblings had never come with them in the first place – they would be dead or ending up like those skeletons that were found within that cave-in. "I don't know how to thank you." They were all bandaged up; both Katherine and Sam had refused to go to a hospital so they stuck with the white bandages and the cleaning of their wounds.

Kathy smiled, waving her hand dismissively, "It's cool." But then she began to think for a moment, "However, if I was staying – I'd get to know that older brother of yours a little deeper … he's cute."

Haley couldn't help but laugh at that, "I don't think I want to know stuff like that." Shaking her head amused at the comment.

The paramedic walked up to them, looking to Haley with question in her looks. "Are you riding with your brother?" She asked. They needed to get this boy some medical care and soon.

Haley nodded, "Yeah." She told the woman just as Ben and Sam came back over to them. The statements were obviously finished with, meaning they could all get on with their lives from there.

Haley looked to Ben, gesturing over to the ambulance, "Let's go." She could tell he had been through a rough time too – he was still just a kid and he had to go through all this. She silently wished she had listened to Roy in the first place in leaving him home – but then she would have had to lie to him about everything that happened. And they never kept lies from each other; not after their parent's horrific demise.

Ben nodded, looking completely ready to get as far away from that forest as quick as possible now. He gave a small smile, as a way of saying goodbye to the Winchester siblings before turning to get into the ambulance with his older brother.

Haley turned to Katherine once more, moving in to give the brunette a hug – she wrapped her arms around the other girl as a thank you. _"I hope you find your father."_ She whispered before letting go again. She turned to Sam once more, "Thanks, Sam." And with that, she left to get in with her brothers – also ready to stay as far away from this forest as possible.

Katherine went over to lean against the Impala, Sam following her in example. They watched together as the ambulance left; taking the Collins siblings to the hospital. The sister sighed, "Well, camping is officially burned off my bucket list."

Sam couldn't agree more, "Same here."

There was a moment of silence before Kathy turned to the side, looking at her brother with solid determination. "Sam, we're going to find dad – got it?" She wouldn't stop looking until the day she died anyway; she couldn't live not knowing if he was alive or dead. Right now though, she believed him to be alive – it was just a gut feeling inside.

"Yeah, I know." Sam nodded, he knew they'd find him. He felt more okay with the fact that finding him wouldn't be straight away – Katherine had sorted him out good last night. He could think more clearly without so much hatred for hunting now. "But in the meantime…" He continued, starting to let a smile reach his lips when he turned towards his sister again. "…I'm driving." He raised an eyebrow to her when she glared at him playfully – reminding her of that offer she made before they made it to Lost Creek.

Kathy huffed a laugh, "You and your memory." She rolled her eyes, reaching into her pockets before chucking him the keys. Sam snatched them from the air with a triumph grin on his lips. They stopped leaning on the car and walked over to their specific doors – Sam to the driver's side and Kathy to the shotgun side. "If you crash my baby, Sammy … I'll kill you." She made her threat once again; but she believed he would be careful with her 1967 Chevy Impala – he knew how much it meant to her. He had asked her many times to drive her car but she had always said no – now he was finally going to drive it, and he was ecstatic about the idea.

Katherine grunted as she got into her seat; her limbs were still painfully hurting and they probably would for a couple of days. Maybe it was a good thing Sam was driving – she wasn't really in good shape to sit behind a wheel for hours. Exhaustion was starting to play with her body; maybe a nap would do her some good while her brother drove to their next destination…

 **Note: Let me know what you think!** __ _ **Pretty please…**_


	8. Dead in the Water - Part 1

**Clothing – 'Dead in the water 1 '**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Dead in the Water – Part 1**

It had been over a month since they left Lost Creek and the Collins siblings to heal; since then, they've been traveling around trying to find some signs on where their father could be – trying to track him but the trail was starting to become colder and colder each day. Today they were finishing up their nightly stay at ' _The Lynnwood Inn'_ near Wisconsin. They had just completed a routine spirit haunting at an old house that no one lived in – pretty simple to solve and all they needed to do was salt and burn the remains which were done and done.

Inside the Inn, Katherine sat at one of the tables eating the specialty breakfast that was semi-included with their room. While eating her bacon and eggs, she had been searching through all the latest papers from the nearby towns to see if anything jumped out at her. They were no closer to finding their father; the trail was as good as dead. But that didn't mean they shouldn't help someone else in need until a sign arises for them to follow. She scooped another piece of bacon into her mouth as she continued to circle possible cases; one in particular spoke out loud for her. A ' _Sophie Carlton'_ was presumed and announced dead a week ago after disappearing in a lake located just outside her door. Just by the fact that it says in the paper that she's a champion swimmer – this is one that definitely caught her attention.

"Can I get you anything else, sweetheart?" A male's voice caught her attention, making her look up. When she did, she saw a man looking particularly hot in a tight short-sleeve shirt – his muscles leaking through the thin material. The name tag on his shirt said 'David', he was most definitely something that would bring her attention away from a case. She started to grin, taking the pen between her lips out slowly – maybe her night wouldn't be so bad after all…

Sam interrupted this by walking in, he had skipped the semi-complimentary breakfast to just have some fruit and cereal. "She's good; just the check please." He told the man, he didn't seem at all pleased that his sister was looking for _another_ hook-up. But then, he should already be used to this – it's been happening since she turned fifteen and grew breasts.

The guy still looked at Kathy, grinning back at her – "Sure, thing." He said, giving the sister a wink before turning away to get that piece of paper with numbers on it.

As soon as he left, Kathy's head dropped to the table with a groan of annoyance – he practically lost her next one-night stand. She looked to him, "Why, Sammy?" She complained, looking like a small child when something was taken away from them, "You know, we are allowed to have some kind of fun once in a while." She glanced back to the way 'David' went, before turning back to her brother, "And that is my kind of fun." Sam didn't react though; he just stared at her unamused – he was having one of _those_ days again. She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with him on the subject, "Alright, take a look at this." She threw the paper in front of him with the circled announcement she found earlier. "Sound odd, right?"

"Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin." She began to tell him the pointers, "Last week a girl named Sophie Carlton drowned. She was an eighteen year old who dove into a lake and never came back out." Sam didn't look particularly interested; and she had a feeling it was because of something else unrelated to finding another case. "The authorities looked through every inch of that lake – no body was found."

She put another two newspapers in front of him; both circled around two specific people as well. Two other deaths had occurred at this lake. "Sophie Carlton is the third person to drown in this lake – the third to go missing within it too. Sophie's funeral was a few days ago."

Sam frowned, "A funeral?" Looking confused; but something was putting him on edge – this confusion wasn't in his geeky manner that made him want to research type of way. There was something else making its way up to the surface.

Katherine didn't exactly notice this, so she continued. "I know, its weird right?" Looking confused herself, but in the manner of wanting to find out what was happening with this lake. "They buried an empty coffin for closure or something." She shrugged, not really understanding it. She would have thought they'd still be looking for these people – obviously not.

"Closure." Sam scoffs sarcastically, finding the idea ridiculous. "What closure?" He turned to his sister looking irritated, "People don't just disappear, Kath." Katherine finally raised her eyebrows over to her brother, now sensing the old Lost Creek Sam coming back in – but also a bit of something else. "Other people just stop looking for them."

Katherine was completely ignoring the papers next to her _and_ her breakfast by this point, "Is there something you wanted to say to me?" She questioned, looking serious. She could see something building up inside him now – some part of her knew that time would get to a point where it became too long; and with that trail for dad failing, everything was starting to finally get to him again.

"The trail for dad." He said in a hard manner; as if reading his sister's thoughts clearly. "It's getting colder every day." A big part of him knew there was nothing his sister could do about that – but it felt like they should just be going after him instead of doing cases – that nagging voice in his head from Lost Creek was starting to slip in and control his mind again.

"Yes, I have already realised that Sam." Katherine nodded slowly, "So, what are we supposed to do about that?" She didn't like that all these negative emotions were being pushed towards her again – she hasn't done anything other than be completely supportive towards him. She's done nothing to get this type of emotion pushed into her fault.

Sam didn't know, but he wouldn't let the subject go, "I don't know." He shrugged helplessly, shaking his head in a frustrating manner. "Something … anything!" His voice was starting to become higher near the end; if he didn't calm down now there was going to be a scene in this busy diner – that was something Kathy really didn't want or need right now.

"Alright, that's enough." Katherine stepped in, narrowing her eyes towards him with a daring look, her tone becoming stern. She's had enough of this – it's been happening on and off since the moment she arrived to pick him up for the Jericho case … and to be quite honest; she was absolutely sick of how he's acting. He didn't have the right to act like this when finding their father – if anyone had the right to bitch about the cold trail – it would be her, but at least she keeps a lid on her emotions – unless of course she's pushed into a situation like this. "I'm getting sick to death of this attitude you keep putting on – you don't think I wanna find dad as much as you?" She questioned back, anger was starting to coil in her veins.

Sam was a little taken back by her sudden change in posture but still kept on at her like before, "Yeah, I know you do but-" She stopped him right there in his tracks.

"But, nothing Sam." She countered back, looking even more pissed. "I've been with dad every day for the past two years while you've been off to your dream school." She made herself take a deep breath, not willing to lose it right then and there; especially when it could cause a scene in front of a lot of people. She felt a little calmer, but not by much that it would make any difference. "We will find dad, but in the meantime … we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Alright?" She cocked an eyebrow at him, as if daring him to retort back with something else that could set her off even more.

The siblings just seemed to stare a moment in silence; that was until 'David' walked past them – knocking Katherine's attention back to him as he went past – everything she felt just then just seemed to slip away as she gazed at those muscular shoulders of his.

Sam seemed to go back to his senses too; he finally looked down to those articles with interest. "Okay." He nodded to himself, realising this case was indeed a little strange – weird enough to check out. "Lake Manitoc." He looked up to his sister; seeing her still looking slightly dreamily towards that man. He rolled his eyes at her attention span; it always seemed to leave her when it came to the male population (that wasn't him), "Hey!" He swatted her on the shoulder with the back of his hand, trying to get her attention back.

Katherine bounced back to reality at the whack, "Hmm." She hummed, looking confused. What did he ask?

Sam sighed, "How far is Lake Manitoc." Throwing the newspapers back in front of her.

Katherine thought for a moment, making a small mind map as she tried to work out how long it would take them to get there – they weren't that far away, and she had already seen on a map as to where this lake was. "It'll be about two to three hours away."

…

The Winchester siblings made it to Wisconsin's popular vacation spot within the two hour and a half mark; they passed a sign that said ' _Welcome to Lake Manitoc WI'_. There were a lot of rivers and bodies of water around the areas that they passed; other places having a lot of open farm lands too – this was another one of those small county's where everyone knows everyone.

…

Katherine and Sam decided to start the case off by seeing Sophie Carlton's remaining family in town – meaning her father and older brother. They arrived at a small lake house just off Lake Manitoc itself; it was old and tiny, not really big enough for a huge family but three people were okay to live bearably in it.

Katherine parked the Impala in the front, just outside the door of the Carlton's residence; they got out and walked over to the front door – promptly knocking on the large piece of wood to see if anyone was home. Moments later someone came to the front door and opened it; a young man appeared, he had short brown hair with a dullish look on his face. This must be Sophie's brother.

Katherine was the first to speak up, "Will Carlton?" It's a good thing she wore her more professional clothes than her raggedy jeans.

"Yeah…" Will nodded, looking confused – never having seen these two people before who stood in his doorway. "…that's right."

"I'm Agent Ford." Kathy pointed to herself before looking over to Sam, "This is Agent Hamill." She turned back to the younger man, "We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service." She held up another one of her fake badges – she pretty much had an ID for everything they could possibly need to copy.

"Oh," Will's attitude changed slightly, there must be something really wrong with that lake if the U.S. Wildlife Service were getting involved. He immediately let them enter, not wanting to get in trouble with the law … again – he would answer anything they had to say. He stepped aside to let them in, "Come in."

…

The Winchester siblings followed Will Carlton inside, heading out the back towards the lake where these strange water disappearances occurred. It had a rocky shore with multiple decks leading out further into the lake – making it easier for people to swim deeper into the water or even take some kind of boat out for a bit.

All three of them stopped to the side as Will began to explain everything he knew, "She was about a hundred yards out." He paused for a moment; it hurt talking about his sister dying – because of her death, everything in his family was now going down the drain; so to speak. His father has barely eaten or talked since the conclusion of her death – he was like a shell sitting either in front of the television or out on their dock like now. He just stared into space; and it made him feel more alone with his pain than ever. "That's where she got dragged down." Inside he believed this wasn't an accident – his sister was the best swimmer in the county – no way does she just drown out of nowhere.

"Are you sure she didn't just drown?" Katherine needed to make sure; she had opted to do at least a bit of research before they came to talk about this girl – no matter how small the information packet was after an hour of looking. She was rubbish in her opinion with finding information on computers. There was a local article about her winning a medal for being the fastest swimmer – she was on the top of the chain this girl.

"Yeah," Will nodded, his tone final – he knew he sister too well. "She was a varsity swimmer," He glanced over to the lake for a moment, but could barely look at it knowing it was quite possibly, his sister's final resting place. "She practically grew up in that lake – and she always felt safe out there, like being in her own bathtub but big enough to enjoy more."

Sam decided to speak this time, wanting to get his questions answers. "So, no splashing?" He questioned, looking puzzled for the guy, "No signs of distress?" His curiosity was sinking through his questions.

"No." The brother shook his head with confusion, he didn't understand this at all, "That's what I'm telling you."

Sam continued on, "Did you see any shadows in the water?" He spoke calmly, not sounding pushy for the guy to answer his questions. "Maybe some dark shape breach the water?"

"No, I-" He paused, his thoughts getting all jumbled up. He shifted in his stance, crossing his arms with insecurity. He was the last one to see his sister alive, he got that – it's why they were asking all these questions. He wanted to think his sister had made it out of the lake somehow – that would explain why her body was never found. But the pit in his stomach didn't take too fondly to that conclusion – his gut was telling him she was gone; and for good. "Again, she was really far out." He could barely see her from inside the house, let alone if there were any dark shadows swimming around her. All he saw was his sister getting dragged down – she went under the surface too fast for it to be herself making those movements – something must have pulled her down. But what?

Kathy thought of something else to ask, "Have you ever seen any strange tracks by the shoreline?"

He shook his head in response, "No, never." He noticed the line of questioning had gotten a little weird, "Why?" He asked, looking concerned by what they could be thinking, "Why? What do you thinks out there?"

Katherine sighed, giving the guy a small comforting smile, "We'll let you know as soon as we figure it out." She turned away about to leave, but Sam asked something else that made her turn right back around. "What about your father?" He asked, "Can we talk to him?" That was another thing Kathy had forgotten; she completely forgot about the man sitting over there on the dock.

Will glanced over to his stationed father sitting on a deck chair, staring out into space – he sighed before turning back to the siblings, "Look." He started, knowing his father wouldn't be able to take any questions right now – he'd probably just ignored them anyway. Just like the man was doing to him right now. "If you don't mind - I mean, he didn't see anything." He tried to think of the right words, "He's kind of, been through a lot lately – now just isn't the time … it probably never will be in fact."

Sam nodded, looking understandable at what the guy was saying. "I understand."

Will gave each of them a thankful smile before they turned away; going back over to the Impala. He looked over to his father once more; he really hoped his father could get past this – if he couldn't, he didn't want to think of what could happen. It was bad enough when their mother died – and now Sophie … when was their family ever going to catch a break?

…

The Winchester's next stop was at the Sheriff's department; still using the cover they used with Will – they were going to dig a little deeper into this mess and figure out where the Sheriff was fitting into all this. The authorities must have done something to at least try and find the bodies – unless they really did just disappear into the water, never to be found again.

As soon as they told the Sheriff _who they were_ , he was immediately curious as to why they were even there. He didn't exactly like strangers coming into his town anyway; someone with authorities like him. "No, I'm sorry-" He began, walking towards his office with the siblings following close behind. "-but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" That lake was a hard spot for him; it was a sensitive subject for several people in this town, including his family.

"Are you sure it's accidental?" Sam raised an eyebrow in response, "We spoke with Will Carlton – he watched his sister get dragged into that water."

"Like what?" The Sheriff asked; or Jake as some people call him by his first name. He motioned for the chairs in front of his desk; telling them to sit down as they talked. "Please, sit." He told them before placing a couple of files on his desk, sitting on his own chair while they spoke. "There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake." He shrugged, not knowing what else that could have dragged someone down below the surface; unless it was on their own accord of course, "There's nothing big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness monster." He finished with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.

"Yeah," Kathy huffed a laugh, trying to make her voice sound believable – but there could be something along that line living down in that lake – or at least hunting in that lake. "Right."

Jake sighed, "Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks." He tried to rationalize. "And still, we dragged that entire lake – there was nothing there, even with a sonar sweep going through it just to be certain."

"But it's weird though," Katherine leaned forwards in her seat slightly, looking confused in her facial features. "I mean, that's the third missing body this year."

The Sheriff nodded back solemnly, "I know." None of this made sense – he honestly didn't know what to do about the situation. "These are people from my town." He looked between the siblings, as if trying to get them to understand how hard this was for him. "These are people I care about." A little pain slipping into his tone; but neither sibling seemed to sense it.

Katherine understood what responsibility he had; he looked truthful in his words, "I know."

"Anyway…" He threw his hands up in exasperation, not knowing what to do now about the situations. He just didn't want to see someone else disappearing in that lake again. "…all this…" He remembered what was going to be happening to that lake soon; it won't be bothering them again hopefully. "…it won't be a problem much longer."

The sister frowned, "How come?" She wondered curiously.

Jake looked over to her confused, gazing between the two ' _Agents_ ', "Well, the dam of course."

Sam nodded along, pretending that he remembered why – Kathy followed his lead – making the realisation come to her face more apparent. "Ah, yes – the dam." She leaned back in her chair, trying to think of something that would throw any suspicions off them – the Sheriff was looking at them with this reflection right now. "Of course, it's sprung a leak."

"It's falling apart." He agreed; looking a little more careful than before about his suspicions. He made a mental note to check out who they were later on when they were out of his office. "And the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened up the spillway." He shook his head; thinking of all the damage this one thing will cause this town. "In another six months, there won't be much of a lake left – not much of a town either." He leaned forwards, his elbows hitting his desk, "But, you already knew that – being Federal Wildlife and all."

"Exactly." Kathy nodded with a purse to her lips, pretending she knew all about this future for the lake.

Suddenly, a young woman entered the office – she had long brunette hair much like Katherine has; she wore a summer skirt and t-shirt. She looked to be in her late 20's, early 30's. "Sorry." She quickly apologised, seeing the siblings sitting in front of the Sheriff's desk. "Am I interrupting? I can come back later." She offered, seeing them all busy talking away.

Katherine and Sam turned to the door; seeing this young woman – they stood up politely along with the Sheriff; they were done talking to the man in charge anyway. They had some research to do; and they needed to find a cheap motel nearby to stay for the couple of days.

The Sheriff stood with a smile, looking to the young woman. "Sir, Ma'am – this is my daughter." He introduced.

Katherine nodded, stepping forwards first, "Pleasure to meet you; I'm Katherine." She held out her hand as an offer to shake – she gestured over to her brother. "That's Sam."

"Andrea Barr." She shook Katherine's hand, smiling respectfully.

"They're from the Wildlife Service; about the lake." He told his daughter; knowing this would also be a sore spot for her. She was still healing from the tragedy … they all were.

That sentence was enough to wipe the happiness and greetings off Andrea's face, but still, she tried to fake it - only just a little. "Oh." She muttered in a small voice, feeling a little sadder than before – memories started to fly by in her mind before she could stop them.

Before anything else could be said about the subject – a small body popped out from behind Andrea – a small boy under ten years old with shaggy brown hair. He looked shy, his eyes jumped from person to person – never smiling once, just watching them a little curiously.

Kathy smiled towards the new person, a glint of something sparking in her eyes, "Hey, little man." She greeted towards him; she never really stayed much around children anymore – it was a big reminder of something that happened in her past, something she was still trying to recover from by not thinking about it – she could never bring a life into the hunting business - it just wouldn't be fair on the child; besides, she couldn't go through that experience again. "What's your name?" Sam noticed this spark; but decided that it could have been his imagination playing up.

The boy shied away instantly without saying a word, removing himself from his mother before going back into the other room. Andrea sighed, giving the siblings a sorry look before following her son. Katherine and Sam watched this with concern; something terrible had happened to that boy – they were slightly curious as to what made him start acting like this. It didn't look normal for a little boy to act so much like a depressed and hidden-away adult. "His name is Lucas." Jake answered Kathy's name question.

The siblings watched the interaction between the mother and son for a moment; Sam couldn't help but ask the Sheriff, "Is he okay?" Both he and his sister turned to the man, waiting for an answer.

Jake sighed, looking disheartened, "My grandson has been through a lot." He spoke vaguely, not giving a full descriptive answer – but that was to be expected; Katherine and Sam were basically strangers to this community. "We all have." There was a moment of silence before the Sheriff walked out from behind his desk, moving over to his office door to show them out. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please just let me know." He offered; maybe they could find some answers they couldn't about that lake?

Katherine nodded, "Sure, thing." She retreated from the office with her brother in tow – then she remembered their need to find a motel nearby. "Oh," She turned around to look between the father and daughter, "There was one thing – where can we find the nearest, reasonably priced motel?"

Andrea knew exactly where they should stay – it was the better one out of the only three in town, "The Lakefront Motel. Just around the corner and it'll be two blocks up." She explained. A thought came to mind; she still needed to pick up some things for dinner at the local grocers – she might as well show them on the way there, it'll probably be easier even if it is just two blocks away. "I'm heading that way anyway – I can show you." She offered before turning to her father. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three." She said to him; her knees bent towards her son, "We'll go to the park, okay sweetie?" She spoke in a way that hoped he'll respond to but all he did was continue drawing pictures with the crayons she got him for his birthday a couple of months ago. She kissed the side of his head before standing again, ready to leave with the Winchester siblings right behind her.

Kathy nodded over to the Sheriff one last time, "Thanks again." The man nodded back, leaning against the doorway to his office. He was still a little fishy of these two – and now he had a chance to see if his gut feeling was right.

…

"He seems like a good kid." Katherine tried to make conversation as they traveled down the road on foot – Andrea was directing them to _'The Lakefront Motel'_ two blocks away.

Andrea sent her a smile, "Thanks." She always loved comments like that towards her child – it makes her feel like a great mother.

"Kids are the best, huh?" Sam couldn't help but secretly snort in amusement – silently wondering why she was trying so hard to play nice with this woman … and this boy – he's never seen her interested in kids before, why now?

"Yeah." Andrea replied back, looking happy – silently wondering if this woman had any children of her own. She and the siblings approached the motel, she looked up at it before turning to them. "Here we are – two blocks away. Enjoy your stay." She gave them one last smile before retreating towards the other direction, needing to finish her to-do list by 3. Making sure she had enough time to pick up her son from the station.

Sam and Katherine were left standing in front of the motel; the brother couldn't help but ask his sister, "What was that?" He had never seen her so interested in a child – but then, they never really had cases that involved children.

Katherine turned to him with a frown, "What?" She questioned, looking confused. She crossed her arms, turning to him with a raised eyebrow of defensiveness.

Sam just seemed to stare at her for a moment in silence, just before shaking his head with a frown. "Nothing." He finally replied – he saw something different in his sister's eyes for a moment back in that office, and now her attitude was completely different from when he last saw her even around kids. Something wasn't right, and he wanted to know why…

…

The siblings were all checked in a half an hour later; their bags were in their room – jackets were off and the research was starting to come into play. Sam was typing away on his laptop; scrolling through site after site to find the articles she had found earlier. For some reason she must have accidently thrown them away because they couldn't be found in her car.

Katherine was rummaging through her old gym bag, trying to figure out what she should wear tomorrow – she really was such a girl sometimes. "So, there's the three drowning victims from this year – let's try and find some that predate this year." He suggested, scrolling through several more pages – looking through them to see who else died at this lake. "I've found six more – they spread over a 35 year period." He explained. "They're bodies were never found either."

Kathy stopped looking through her clothes, glancing over to the laptop and her brother, "So, if there is something out there – it's picking up its pace." She paused, "So maybe it's a monster on a binge? But why?" Shrugging her shoulders, nothing in their father's journal indicated what this creature could be. They were completely on their own on this one.

Sam didn't look so sure, he didn't seem to like the idea about a _'Loch-Ness Monster'_ , it just didn't sound right for this place. "The lake-monster theory bugs me." He told her honestly, all these deaths were connected in some way – he just didn't know how yet.

"Why?" Katherine sighed, going over to her brother this time – looking over his shoulder as he brought up another website.

"The Loch Ness." He repeated, typing in a specific lake into the search engine to show his sister. "At Lake Chaplain – there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts." He clicked back over to ' _The Lake Manitoc Tribune_ ' site. "But here, there's almost nothing." He shrugged, looking clueless. "Whatever's out there – no one's living to talk about it."

Katherine tilted her head a little, a frown forming on her lips as a name caught her eyes. "Wait," She stopped him from scrolling down the page further. She pointed to one of the articles from this year; the one she hadn't fully read. "Barr. Christopher Barr; where have I heard that name before?" It felt recent, she couldn't remember. Her memory really was atrocious sometimes. Her head was leaning closer over her brother's shoulder, invading his personal space a little.

"Christopher Barr." He read, clicking onto the full article. "He's the victim in May." As the page loaded – they saw a familiar face on the photograph that went with the writing – it was Lucas wrapped around in a towel, his body wet, his face withering in dismay and his eyes never met the camera. "The guy who was dragged down – it was Andrea's husband; Lucas's father."

Katherine sighed, looking at the picture of Lucas sadly. "No wonder the kid was so distant." Shaking her head; this boy had witnessed something absolutely terrible. Something that he was too young to have to watch; she really did wish children were kept out of all this crap until they really had the chance to live – after they gain the ability to comprehend everything they really see.

"Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming." Sam went through the main pointers from the page in front of him, "Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned … two hours before the kid got rescued."

" _Son-of-a-bitch_." Kathy swore under breath, crossing her arms against her chest – one of her hands going up to her mouth, biting her nails at the realisation of what this kid had to go through. No one deserves to watch a parent die – especially a young child who can remember traumatic things.

Sam looked at the little boy sadly too, "Maybe we do have an eyewitness after all." Scratching his head, wondering what they should do now. Really, they needed to talk to Lucas – but the boy looked like he hasn't talked in a while, let alone let anyone get truly close to him again. He wasn't sure where to go from here.

…

Katherine made the ultimate decision that they would meet Andrea at the park she said she was going to take Lucas too – they figured it would be the most local park but also the one that's most popular. They wanted to find some answers towards this case – they were still nowhere near in finding out what the hell could be taking these people into the deep dark water. This was a tricky one to solve by the looks of it.

They noticed Andrea sitting on one of the park benches, just staring at her son with a longing look – Lucas was just sitting on the grass, several pieces of paper and his crayons spread out over a stone seating bench. Little green toy soldiers were next to him, all standing up in a line pointing towards the other way.

The approached her, she hadn't realised them coming to her until Sam spoke. "Can we join you?" He wondered, giving her a little smile.

They seemed to jolt her out of her staring, she looked up to them with the same look she wore before leaving them at the motel, "I'm here with my son." She explained, not really feeling up to much company right now.

Kathy nodded, glancing over to Lucas. "That's fine." She spoke with a distant tone, just staring at the little boy, "Mind if I say 'hi'?" She asked, but started to walk over to Lucas anyway – not waiting for a reply. Leaving Sam and Andrea to sit together on the bench; maybe Sam could get some information from the mother too.

Sam once again looked on towards his sister with a confused manner – why was she acting so odd all of a sudden?

…

Katherine slowly approached Lucas; watching him draw with multiple coloured crayons with the little soldiers beside him. She bent down in front of him, leaning on her knees so her head was at the same height as his. She grinned a little, picking up on of the little soldiers. "My brother used to love these things – I played with him for hours just to keep him happy." She made a small explosion noise with her mouth – hoping to catch Lucas's attention, but it stayed on the drawing he was making with the black crayon. "So, crayons – I'm more of a felt-tip pen gal, they're bolder in colour." She paused, "But crayons are cool too – I bet you have chicks lined up around the corner with your artistry." Still nothing came out of the young boy's mouth. Not even a hint of a sign that he was even listening.

She sighed, looking over to the drawings that had already been made. She browsed through a couple – one was of a red bike and the other was of a black whirlpool. "You mind if I hang out with you for a while? Maybe show you my own skills with drawing – they're not as good as yours, but I could try?" Kathy grabbed the navy blue crayon closest to her – grabbing a clean sheet of paper that sat as a stack to the side. She stood up for a moment before placing herself onto the bench itself, sitting so one of her legs were crossed in front of her and the other hung over the side – she used her crossed knee as some kind of table.

"You know," She began, starting to draw a very bad representative of her family with a tiny crayon that far too small for her hand. "I'm thinking you can hear me, you just don't want to say anything." Her eyes glanced over to the small boy, "I'm not sure exactly what happened to your dad – but I can just tell it was something bad." She paused for a moment, a distant haze floating in her mind again, "I think I know exactly how you feel, Lucas." The crayon scratched against the surface of the paper.

"When I was your age … I saw something too; my mom, she …" She stopped herself, feeling her mouth start to dry up – the image of her mother flashing in her head; how she looked on the night she died – her mother was like an angel in that white gown. She quickly cleared her throat, trying to direct her thoughts to something else before her emotions got too tied up. "Anyway … maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you or even believe you." She finally looked over to Lucas properly, "But I promise you; I will."

Kathy shrugged, "You don't even need to say anything – a picture would give us a good start too, just something to point us in the right direction of what caused all this pain." He looked like a good drawer, his pictures would be enough to help them figure out where to go next.

She waited for something to happen; but nothing did. A sigh left her lips, finishing her drawing off quickly before showing him. "This is for you." The photo was placed near him, but not really in front of him so that it covered up his own drawing. "This is my family." There were four people lined up; stickmen and women with clothes on. Her finger pointed to each stick person as she mentioned who they were, "That's my dad … that's my mom," She made a sad chuckle with that one, "…that's my geeky brother – and obviously the last one is me." She made a cringe at her terrible drawing, "Wow – I really am a rubbish artist, huh?"

She looked down to Lucas with one more smile, but this time it was more of a yearning one. "See you around, Lucas." She got up from the bench, leaving the drawing with him before walking back towards her brother and Andrea who now stood calmly talking to each other. Andrea was starting to look a little more saddened as well; but it was obviously by what Sam was asking – probably about her late husband's drowning and how her son was taking everything in.

As Katherine's back was turned – Lucas picked up her drawing, looking down at it with a spark in his eyes. He wanted her to know.

…

"Lucas hasn't even said a word, not even to me." Andrea was speaking dismally, feeling a disappointment as a mother. Beating herself up to know her son had seen his father die; it was something she never ever wanted him to see – or even experience a loved one's death until he was late in his adult years. "Not since his dad's accident." She explained, looking over to Katherine as she strode over to join her and Sam.

Kathy nodded, looking understanding, "We heard." She slipped her hands into her pockets, shifting slightly in her stance. "We're sorry."

Sam was confused about how Lucas was reacting; he knew a normal child would act completely different – it didn't really make sense. "What do the doctor's say?" He wondered.

Andrea made a little huff; not even the doctors could give a proper answer. "They said it's some kind of post-traumatic stress." She didn't really believe it somehow and this troubled her greatly – she just wanted her little boy back, the one that was such a handful all the time. Now he just … wanders through life doing the same things every day for every second of those days.

Sam glanced over to Lucas, "It can't be easy for either of you." He commented.

She just gave him a small shrug towards the comment, "We moved in with my dad – he helps out a lot." If it wasn't for her father; she would have broken down completely by now. "It's just…" She looked over to her son still sitting in his spot, "…when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…" Lucas began to get up from his sitting position, making his way over to them.

"Kids are strong." Kathy noted – knowing first hand. "You'll be surprised with what a child can deal with."

Andrea was beginning to get a longing look in her eyes, "You know, he used to have such a life." She revealed to them, "He was pretty hard to keep up with to tell you the truth." She noticed her son nearing them, "Now he just sits and draws – playing with those army men. I just wish…" Her words ended when Lucas was now standing between her and Katherine – she didn't want him to have to hear her speak about all these things. "Hey, sweetie."

He stayed quiet – just handing a piece of paper over towards Katherine, a picture of a small wooden building with a red roof. He gave them a clue. Kathy glanced down towards the boy after a moment, "Thank you, Lucas." She told him gratefully – they finally had a place to start next.

 **Note: There won't be an update for later today (Wednesday) because I have been called into do an 11-9pm shift (urgh) and I have too much of a kind heart to say no – the next update will be up sometime on Thursday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter … and as usual, please let me know if you liked it.**


	9. Dead in the Water - Part 2

**Clothing – 'Dead in the Water 2'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Dead in the Water – Part 2**

Sam strode through the motel room the next afternoon – he had been looking around for something for him and his sister to eat – he was on his way back when he noticed something. There had been an ambulance outside the Carlton's lake house; without letting anyone know he was really there – he went to see what had gone on. Turns out, Will Carlton drowned – in his own kitchen sink! "So," He made his presence known to the sister who sat on the bed cross-legged, reading through their father's journal once more just to be sure there wasn't anything useful in there. Her head didn't seem to pop up at his arrival until he spoke – his entrance seemed to jolt her out of something – she had been in deep thought. "I think we can safely rule out Nessie."

Katherine's mind went blank for a moment; he had just startled her out of her own inner thoughts – the journal was still turned on the same page that she had started with. She hadn't read a damn thing in the last hour. "Huh?" She blinked for a moment, trying to comprehend what her little brother had said. "Oh, uh – why?" Figuring out what her response should be.

Sam went over to sit next to her on the bed, "I just drove past the Carlton house." He explained, "There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead." It wasn't until then when he looked down at the journal that he realised it was the ' _Water Wraith'_ page. He was sure that it had been the same page she had started with - before he left. He frowned, looking concerned. "You alright?"

Katherine looked to him confused, "Yeah – why wouldn't I be?"

He raised an eyebrow in response, "Because you haven't turned the page in over an hour." Gesturing the musty book in her hands.

There was a moment where Kathy looked down at the journal before promptly shutting it, throwing the book onto the bed carefully so it didn't damage. She cleared her throat, "So, Will Carlton – he drowned?" She guessed – dismissing his questionable looks. She wasn't about to answer the question she had no intend of answering.

"Kath-" Sam started to say, but his sister stopped him before he could even finish her name.

"Leave it, Sammy." She told him, a stern tone in her voice – one that completely ended the discussion before it even began. "Now, did he drown?" Changing the subject quickly.

Sam realised he wouldn't get any answers from her, especially not right now at least – he would have to wait until he got a better moment. "Yeah," He nodded, slowly but still looking at her in a worriedly manner, "He drowned in the kitchen sink."

"The sink?!" Katherine repeated, her face holding a smidge of disbelief, "What the hell?" She couldn't help but exclaim; that was the oddest death of the day. She quickly went through all the case knowledge in her mind, "So, this really isn't a creature were dealing with – it's something different."

Sam didn't know what this could be; he's never read or heard of anything like this. "But what, though?"

"Don't know." Kathy sighed, a couple of things come to mind but they're not following the pattern they would usually do – and there would be more evidence to make these conclusions more reliable; there needed to be signs that these creatures were apart of these deaths/disappearances. "It could be a water wraith; but I doubt it … some kind of demon?" She shrugged, looking clueless in her features. "It has to be something that controls water – Will drowning in the sink, Sophie and all those other victims being dragged down into the lake before vanishing … but … all the water would have to come from the same source." Suddenly, she knew something else about this _thing._

Sam seemed to get the same idea because he turned to his sister with widened eyes, looking as though he had figure something out – he mirrored Katherine's face exactly. "The lake."

Kathy nodded, twisting around in the bed slightly so her body was more turned towards her brother. "Yeah."

Everything seemed to start connecting one-by-one, "That explains why this thing is upping its body count." There had been more deaths this year than in the last seven years; that is a huge leap to be making without a reason – but now they've figured it out. "The lake will be all dried up in a few months – it knows there's only a limited timeline to complete … whatever it's doing. So it's becoming more aggressive with its body count – it's running out of time."

A scary thought crossed Katherine's mind; she spoke out her worries, "Sam, if it can get through the pipes …"

The same look flashed through her brothers facial features, "…it can get to almost anywhere – kill absolutely anyone it wants through the nearest water pipe." He finished for her. There must be a reason as to why this thing was killing these specific people – there were a lot of people in town; why these specific people? "It won't wait – it probably knows exactly who to go for next." She got up from the bed, feeling the need to stretch her legs a little – she moved over to the small table and two chairs by the entrance door.

"But we know one thing for sure." Sam followed her movements, still sitting on the bed but keeping his eyes on her, "This has something to do with Bill Carlton – both his children are dead within not even a week of each other." He paused, "I asked around – Lucas's dad, Chris. He's Bill Carlton's godson."

"Christ." Kathy swore, feeling slightly sorry for the guy – he was losing all his family one-by-one. "He must have done something terrible to piss of a spirit if it's leaving him last." She shook her head, they needed to know what happened – which only meant one thing, "Looks like we're paying a visit to Mr. Carlton – let's just hope he's more open than last time."

…

By the time the Winchester siblings arrived at Mr. Carlton's lake house – the sheriff, the ambulance and the coroner had left – leaving the lot empty and silent. They didn't even have to knock on the front door because as soon as they pulled up – you could see a lonely middle-aged man sitting on the dock, staring into space and hunched in a deck chair. He almost mirrored how he looked when they first saw him yesterday while they questioned Will on his sister's death.

Katherine and Sam walked over to the dock, slowly walking up to the man sitting on his own – he literally had no one left now. As soon as they approached; they had a good look at his face. There were dark bags under his eyes, his skin was pale and his eyes were dulled – almost lifeless. His shoulders were loose, like he couldn't even bring himself to even try and look okay – dismay and pain radiated from his body; he felt dead inside.

"Mr. Carlton." Sam said softly as they approached the poor man. Even though they had a good inkling about how he could be involved in all of this – it still stayed with them that this man had watched all his loved ones die; the guilt was probably crumbling his insides this very moment. The man glanced up for a second slowly, not smiling in greeting – his lips just stayed in a thin line, he made no effort to move much of his body. He just wanted to be left alone to wallow in the death of his children, "We'd like to … ask you a few questions if you don't mind." They're words didn't want to sound like an accusation; that was one sure way of getting the person to shut up before anything could be said. "We're from the Department –" Before Sam could even finish, the man stopped him short.

"-I don't care who you're with." They could be aliens coming to take him away and he still wouldn't care – his family were all gone – he had nothing else to live for. "I've answered enough questions today." His tone was as lifeless as his posture; his mind and body felt dead.

The siblings knew they couldn't just leave with un-answered questions. "Your son said he saw something in that lake." Sam pushed slightly, they needed something to go on. "What about you? Have you ever seen anything out there?" Looking down at the water warily. "Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death … we think there might be a connection to you and your family."

Salty water began to peel at Mr. Carlton's pupils, "My children are gone." He croaked, his voice cracked with emotion. "It's …" It looked like he was trying to come up with the best thing to describe the devastation inside of him. "…It's worse than dying." When your dead, you can't feel a thing – when you live with that pain, it becomes unbearable.

Katherine couldn't help but silently agree at his last words; Sam didn't see – but her mind started to wander somewhere else again; as if she was beginning to remember something from the past.

If Mr. Carlton was a part of this somehow – he wasn't going to share. "Go away." He pleaded, wanting to be alone – he couldn't answer any more questions. "Please."

…

"What do you think?" Sam asked Kathy as soon as they were near the Impala. He walked beside her, wanting to know exactly what she thought about it. He could tell the poor man was grieving x2, but some part of him felt like the man knew exactly what could be taking its revenge out on him. Whether he believed in the supernatural or not.

Kathy sighed back, slipping her hands inside her pockets with a sad note, "I think the poor guy's going through hell – losing a kid; it takes a toll on you." A sliver of what she said; Sam seemed to recognise it – he didn't call it out, but he knew one thing. Something had happened to his sister … and those last words proved it all. Grief – her eyes flashed with understanding for what the man was going through. "I also think he's hiding something."

Sam was on his side of the Impala, leaning against it to the direction of his sister who now stood the other side of the car. "So, what now?" He questioned, wondering where they were going to go next.

Katherine was about to open her mouth, telling Sam she didn't know at this point but her words seem to escape her when she peered up at the lake house fully; Mr. Carlton's house. It was like she had seen it for the first time. The lake house was old, the paint was over a decade old but that wasn't what caught her attention – the building was a brown in colour, covered in a red roof. This building looked exactly like the house Lucas had drawn for her – the picture she had hoped that would give them some more insight into what this spirit was doing. This was their next clue. "Huh?" She huffed under her breath, how did they not see this before? "Maybe Bill Carlton isn't the only one who knows something."

"What is it?" Sam was confused, watching his sister gaze up at the familiar house with a fascination and recognition. Katherine took her hands out of her pockets, reaching into the side of her jacket to remove a piece of paper. The drawing Lucas had given her. As her brother walked around the car to stand beside her; she silently gave him the photo – watching as the realisation slipped into his mind too.

…

Turns out; the house from that picture … it was the Carlton house – it was like Lucas had predicted Will's death. The part that was getting them was that Lucas had drawn that picture yesterday, and now Will was dead today. Something was going on. The two realised that they would have to speak with Lucas again to get another clue; well, Katherine would have to speak with him to get this clue. She's the only one out of the siblings to have some kind of connection to the boy.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Andrea shook her head at the two; she had let them in under a minute ago and now they wanted to speak with her son. She didn't get how these two expect to get anything from her son anyway; he hasn't spoken a word or acknowledged her presence in months.

"I just need to talk to him." Katherine pleaded back – she just needed to speak to Lucas one more time; he had the answers they needed. They have nowhere else to go now without that hope. "Just for a few minutes."

"He won't say anything, though." The other woman countered with a sad sigh breezing through her lips, "What good is that supposed to do?" She looked tired; another person in the community had just died only a few hours ago – someone they knew next door. There was too much death around here lately, she just wanted it all to stop for both her son's sake and her own.

"Andrea…" Sam tried this time; he started to have that look Katherine hated when she needed to keep a secret. The puppy dog look that was irresistible. "…more people could get hurt and we think something's happening out there."

Andrea looked doubtful before, even with the amount of deaths that were occurring – but she wasn't so sure about what happened to all those people anymore, including her husband. "My husband … the others … they just drowned." She tried to deny the truth, thinking it would hurt less inside but it was doing no good. "That's it."

Katherine would have believed that statement if it hadn't been for that spark of doubt in the other woman's eyes – Andrea didn't know what to think anymore. "If that's what you really believe-" Getting Andrea to turn over to her, "-, we'll go." She couldn't go; but she needed to at least give the woman an option to choose from. Kathy just hoped Andrea would let her see Lucas once more. "But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here … _please_ let me talk to your son."

…

All three of them headed upstairs towards Lucas's room; upon coming up to the open door – they could clearly see Lucas drawing more pictures with little army men scattered around him – almost like they were protecting their owner in a way. Katherine took a moment before slowly approaching the small boy; bending down not to closely next to him. "Hey, Lucas." She said softly, hoping deep down that this would work – getting Lucas to draw them another picture to lead them in the right direction – she believed in him. Sam and Andrea stayed behind in the hallway, just outside the door – they weren't close enough to feel imposing but they were gonna be able to hear every world Katherine was going to say. "Do you remember me?" Lucas ignored her, picking up another coloured crayon before continuing with his drawing.

Katherine had a feeling he wouldn't talk anyway; she just prayed that her words would be able to spark something in him like last time. She glanced down at the already drawn pages and picked the up a few centimetres from the ground; there were two pictures of that red bike again drawn on them. She slowly placed them back onto the ground; lowering herself into a cross-legged position in front of him. "You know, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing." She paused, licking her lips to get rid of the dryness on them. "The thing is … I need your help again." She reached back into her jacket again like before, grabbing the piece of paper that held the Carlton's lake house on it. She unfolded it and placed it in front of Lucas – hoping to get some kind of reaction from him.

"How did you know how to draw this?" Her tone was slightly lower – not wanting Andrea to overhear that part of the one-sided conversation. Her tone wasn't harsh or forcefully questionable; she could tell the kid wasn't at fault, and besides – she couldn't be angry with a child. He's done nothing wrong; she couldn't help but be careful around him in how she spoke. "Did you know something bad was going to happen?" Lucas continued to draw, "Maybe you could nod a yes or no?" Looking a little desperate for some kind of answer from him – but he didn't even blink.

"You're scared and it's okay because I understand." Katherine noted, nodding her head in understanding. Flashes of her past started coming to her – she knew that it was time to let one of her secrets out, especially if it was going to help them stop whatever this thing is from killing again. "See, when I was your age … I saw something real bad happen to my mom … and I was scared too." From the side, Sam was looking straight at his sister, silently wondering if this was what had made her so distant and close to kids during this case. It would make sense; Lucas bringing up that part of her past again … yes, that must be what he had wanted to know from her earlier. Kathy could feel the rims of her eyelids start to water, she tried to blink them away even as her mother's frame stayed within her mind. "I didn't feel like talking … I didn't feel like doing anything anymore." Another moment in her life many years ago started to come to her … the one thing that would stay hidden for as long as possible, it hit her even harder than her mother's – but this was one secret she'll keep to the heart and never tell … never.

"But see, my mom…" She continued, leaning forwards slightly so her elbows hit her knees. "…I know for a fact that she'd want me to be brave – be the daughter she wanted to raise and never give up." Her throat started to clog up, it was getting hard to swallow her emotions – she didn't even realise that Lucas had begun to slowly stop drawing – his head was still down, but he listened to her every word. "I think about that every day and for myself to be the best that I can – because it would have been what she wanted."

Now it was time to turn this around on him and his father. "But maybe your dad, wants you to be brave too." Finally, Lucas looked up from his drawing – his eyes connecting with hers with an understanding in them. Lucas knew what to do; he leant over to grab one of the drawings next to him and passed it to her.

Katherine accepted the piece of paper; looking down at it to see what it consisted of. It was of a yellow house behind a gate; a small red bicycle in front and a little boy with a blue hat next to it. Over to the side was also a church; there were several clues in one picture from what she could tell. She glanced up to Lucas; smiling a little in relief and gratefulness. "Thank you, Lucas." She made sure to direct all those negative feelings inside of her towards another emotion – determination.

…

The Winchester siblings were back in the Impala again; driving back through one of the back routes filled with trees and fields. "Andrea said Lucas never used to draw like that until his dad died." Katherine noted to her brother; seeing him glancing down at the new drawing with slight interest.

Sam turned his head over to her, "There have been some cases where people have gone through a traumatic experience, and ended up being more sensitive to premonitions and psychic tendencies." He read it in one of those old supernatural type books when he was a teenager.

"Well," Katherine began, taking on what he was saying seriously. "What if Lucas is tapping into this thing?" She glanced at the picture before going back to the road, "This is the only key we have, Sammy." Knowing he wasn't fully into the idea of following pictures – even though at this point, pictures were good enough for her. "It's only a matter of time until another person pops up dead – I don't think we even have another choice…"

"Alright." Sam held up his hands in a surrender manner; he didn't like this idea (because of the amount of work they were going to have to do) but it was worth a shot. "We have another house to find." His tone slipping into a little displeasure.

"The problem is, there's a thousand yellow two-story houses in this county alone." Katherine muttered; not liking the idea of that amount of work – but it must be done!

Sam was listening but his head was tilted towards the drawing; staring at the church with a little wonder. "You see this church." He pointed to the double-pointed building to the left, lifting the drawing up so she didn't have to take her eyes off the road for more than a second. "I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here." He smirked a little, feeling really smart right then.

Kathy noticed this and rolled her eyes as a counter attack, "Oh college boy … he thinks he's so smart." She teased a little, earning a chuckle from him in amusement. After that, the car went silent again with only the background music to the song playing on a low volume.

To the side, Sam looked hesitant – he felt the need to ask these questions bouncing around in his head – they just wouldn't go away. "You know, uh," He paused, his mouth opening and closing for a moment with no sound coming out. "What you said about mom … you've never told me that before." Katherine's shoulders slumped only slightly – she should have known questions would be coming back at her after her little emotional speech.

She shook her head, not looking over to her brother as she replied. "It's no big deal." She really didn't want to get into her losses and past memories right now – especially when they had just had a moment of happiness with laughing together.

"Was that why you were acting so weird earlier?" He questioned again, turning to the side a little more. She looked at him in confusion – so he made himself clearer, "Back in the motel room, when I came back with the announcement of Will Carlton's death – you weren't acting like yourself."

Katherine bit her lip tightly, "Sam." She started, trying to remain calm and collected as usual. "You're my brother and I love you…" She glanced over to him with another sigh, "But there are just some things that I won't tell you; that I can't tell you … _please_ understand this." Her eyes were pleading with him to let it go. _'I can't accept it … not yet...even after all this time_ ' She thought silently through her mind with longing.

There was another moment of silence before Sam started to nod slowly; okay with the fact that he could wait – she'll tell him eventually … just not now. His interest could hold off until then. "Okay." He started to smile a little as he continued to look at her with annoying piercing eyes – trying to annoy her like he used to do when he was younger. He felt the need to liven up her spirit up again after he smashed it a little with his questions.

Katherine breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that word slip from her brother's mouth. Suddenly, she could feel him staring at her – she looked over to see him grinning with those irritating eyes of his. She groaned when she remembered that look, "Quit it, twerp." Shaking her head with a quirk to her lips, already feeling better than she did before.

…

It took a lot of hard work; but they were finally able to find the church from the drawing – it was nearly an exact replica. This was the place; they also knew that because, just like the drawing, you could see a small yellow house further away across the road. The siblings turned to each other, now knowing what door they were going to be knocking at now – they prayed that this person inside will know something worth-wile towards their investigation.

…

"We're sorry to bother you ma'am." Katherine apologised to the elderly woman in front of her; the lady had been kind enough to let them in, even though they were basically strangers just looking for information. "But, does a little boy live here or has one previously lived here in the past, by some chance?" She paused, watching the recognition start to float in the woman's eyes. "He might wear a blue cap…" She continued, "…he would have had a red bicycle."

Tears started to spring to the woman's eyes, "No, miss." She shook her head sadly, a croak in her throat sounded when a face flashed through her mind. "Not for a very long time." Her head glanced over to a picture on the table; a boy a little older than Lucas – the siblings followed in her lead and they couldn't help but see a strong look-alike between the two boys. "Peter's been gone for 35 years now." A sad sigh left her lips, "The police never…" She shook her head, "…I never had any idea what happened." She finally turned away from the photo; looking over to the siblings again. "He just disappeared."

"Losing him…" She continued, her head turning to the floor with grief riddled in her tone. Sam kept listening but something else caught his eye – he narrowed them slightly over to another small table over to the side. There were small green solider men standing together – they were exactly like the ones Lucas owned and kept around with him at all times. It wasn't a coincidence. "You know, it's…" She tried to think of the best words to describe the crumbling inside her soul. Sam nudged his sister in the side lightly, trying to get her attention. Kathy turned to him with a confused frown, wondering why he had just pushed her. It wasn't until he nodded over to the soldiers when she understood the meaning. "It's worse than dying." She spoke the exact same words Mr. Carlton had said to them before they left him at the lake house.

"Did he disappear from here?" Katherine questioned lightly, looking curious. She didn't think so, because otherwise – why would Lake Manitoc be connected to this case in a huge way. "I mean, from this house?"

The woman shook her head quickly, "He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school…" She explained, guilt of thinking this was somehow her fault ringing through her heart. She was trying so hard not to bawl her eyes out then and there – she tried to keep as collected as she could but her emotions were starting to win the battle. "…and he never showed up."

…

A little while later, the elderly woman excused herself for some alone time, leaving the siblings in the front room to go over everything she had told them about her son - Peter Sweeny. A picture caught Katherine's attention; it hung snugly on the mirror – it was of Peter and another boy dressed in boy scouts uniforms. She turned over the piece of older paper as Sam approached to see what she had found, "Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton." She read, "1970." Bill Carlton had a lot of explaining to do.

…

The siblings were back in the Impala, on their way back to town – intent on finding out some more information from Bill Carlton himself. That man knew something; and they were going to find out what.

"Okay," Sam started to form theories in his head, "So, this little boy Peter Sweeney – he vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton."

Kathy scoffed at the obvious hidden statement, "The man knows something – he was a part of Peter's disappearance. He probably killed the poor boy, that's why Peter never came home." Her grip tightened around the steering wheel unconsciously, anger towards Bill starting to build. He killed his friend – who was only a small child at the time; Peter had his whole life ahead of him. He had no right to take that life away.

Sam nodded, liking the theory. "And that would be why all the people Bill loves is dying – it's one pissed off spirit; it's wanting revenge."

Kathy thought about something else, "It's just a question of – will the spirit leave Bill alive to suffer, or just end it completely."

…

The Impala was parked outside Mr. Carlton's house for the third time today – both Sam and Katherine got out, looking for any sign of the middle-aged man. "Mr. Carlton!" Sam yelled, directing his voice around the surroundings. They glanced over to the dock as well for a moment – but there was no one there. No one would answer to a knock on the door either when Katherine quickly tried.

Katherine was about to declare him a run-away until she heard the engine of a small fishing boat – making her twist sharply around on her heels. Just going out into the water now was Mr. Carlton – heading out further and further into the middle of the lake. Sam seemed to hear the engine too, because he rounded to see what was happening as well.

Without even thinking, both siblings broke off into a sprint – running towards the dock in a fast manner. They knew that if the man didn't come back to shore now – he'll be dead any minute now. But, maybe that's what he wants? Katherine could understand how he would want to die – everyone he loved was dead – he really did have no other reason to live anymore.

"Mr. Carlton!" Both Sam and Katherine shouted towards the man – trying to get his attention. The man just glanced around for a second before continuing – within that moment … it all ended. The boat flew up into the air at an amazing height; Mr. Carlton flew out of the boat and dropped into the water head first – he never came back up … the spirit now had him…

 **Eep! I am so, so, so sorry – I was called in again so I couldn't get this done until now. Now I'm working 8 days in a row, all with 8-10 hrs a day. They must really like me – that must a good thing though, right? Oh! Also it turns out I am FINALLY going to be moving departments within the next few weeks – FINALLY! Man, do I hate being a cashier…**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter!**

 **Lisa.**


	10. Dead in the Water - Part 3

**Clothing [Very Last Scene to this Chapter!] – 'Dead in the Water 3'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Dead in the Water – Part 3**

Soon after the sudden death of Mr. Carlton, the Winchester siblings were whisked away to the Sheriff's office for questioning. But the siblings could tell something was going on with the man; he had secretly held a passive look when he thought they weren't watching – he knew they were lying about their identity, or at least they thought he did. It was just the thought of what he was going to do with this information that troubled them.

As soon as they walked through the front door; Andrea and Lucas caught they're attention – the two of them sat in the waiting room chairs, Andrea held packaged take-away food in her arms.

Andrea's head snapped over to the door; her eyes looked a tiny bit worried but they didn't exactly know why. "Sam … Katherine." She exclaimed, seeing them walk in with her father. "I didn't expect to see you here." She really hadn't; all she was doing was bringing her father some food – kind of like a bribery for her father; to get him to tell her exactly what happened to Mr. Carlton today … and the status of what's been happening about that lake.

To the side, Lucas began to rock a little – his eyes darting to many places around the floor. His breathing started to harden and brims of water tricked into the whites of his eyes.

The Sheriff tried to hide his displease at the fact his daughter and the liars were so chummy. "So, now you're on a first name basis." Looking between the three. He walked over to her, both Sam and Kathy following close behind. He glanced at the food she placed on the seat by Lucas; watching her get up from her chair. "What are you doing here?" Although he was sure the answer had already formed in his cranium.

Andrea smiled slightly to him, seeing her father look exhausted, "I brought you dinner." Gesturing over to the wrapped up chicken curry from across the street.

Jake's face started to morph into a sorry look, he was about to apologise to her. "I'm sorry sweetheart … I really don't have the time right now." He made her sigh in defeat.

Andrea crossed her arms, looking uncomfortably between the siblings and her own father. "I heard about Bill Carlton." She shifted in her stance anxiously. "Is it true?" The questions started to pour from her mouth, looking worried. "Is there something going on with the lake?" They literally live by that lake, just like Bill … had, if they were in any danger - she needed to know.

The Sheriff glanced back to Katherine and Sam before saying the vague truth, "Right now, we don't know what to think." He replied, looking uncertain. "But, I think it's best that both you and Lucas went on home."

Something seemed to flash through Lucas's eyes at that, he jolted up from his seat in a panic – seeking out Katherine before running over to her – his face was full of fear; it looked like he wanted to cry but the tears didn't come. Lucas's grabbed Katherine's arm, pulling her down to him with a tight grip – trying to get her to understand what he knows … he was desperate.

Kathy was shocked for a moment, not knowing what to do – but her instincts soon kicked in, "Lucas – wait, what is it?" She questioned, frowning in worry at his sudden state – her body bended lower so her head was nearer to his height.

Andrea was just as shocked as her – she had never seen her son act this way before. "Lucas." She went over to him, trying to pull him off the other woman, he was gripping her arm really tight. She started to feel a little embarrassed about this scene but she was more concerned by why her Lucas was acting like this. Jake was startled, he had never seen his grandson react this way, even after Chris's death. It was strange, yet it made him apprehensive for how the day may pass.

Lucas started to whine in fear, feeling his mother try to pull him away – Katherine tried to console him the best she could. "It's okay, Lucas." She told him in a soft tone, a comforting one that a mother would use – she wasn't his mother, but it was starting to work. He was starting to calm down from his episode, "It's okay, Lucas. It's okay." This time she did bend down enough so that her knee hit the floor – she placed her free hand on the side of his face gently, "Everything's going to be okay, Lucas." She promised. She had a bad feeling in her gut all of a sudden; like something was going to happen soon – and will succeed in happening if it wasn't stopped in time. He was almost fully calmed down by this point; there was still something lingering in his face but he had essentially let go of her all together now.

"Let's go home." Andrea coaxed to her son, holding him to her body like a mother would do to protect her child. She held him, walking him towards the door – ready to just take a bath and get some sleep, hope that all these deaths were just a dream.

Katherine never looked away from Lucas as he was taken away home – he kept looking at her, as she did with him – he never looked away for one moment until the front door closed behind him and his mother. That feeling in her gut was growing more intense … and she didn't like it one bit. Sam glanced to his sister with a concerned look; she kept gazing out that door even as the Sheriff slammed his jacket down on one of the tables with a frustrated sigh.

Kathy remembered that look Lucas wore – this kid was so scared; his face was filled with horror. It's the same one she had worn on the day of her mother's death, when she realised her mother was gone for good …

…

Not even five minutes later; Katherine and Sam were sitting in the exact same seats as before in the Sheriff's office. The Sheriff being the one to sit on his desk; really questioning the statements that were given – and also the fact that everyone that he has questioned, have all said the exact same thing. He didn't believe any of it…

"…you see something attack Bill's boat…" The Sheriff was saying to them, his voice was hard – he didn't like strangers, let alone liars who were strangers. "...sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer by the way … into the drink … and you never see him again?" He raised an eyebrow, not impressed by what he was repeating from their very own words.

Kathy took a glance to her brother, shrugging in approval, "Yeah," She nodded, that sounded about right to her. "That's pretty much it."

The man narrowed his eyes to the both of them, "And, I'm supposed to believe that?" He paused. "Even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake a dozen times, and what you're describing is completely impossible?" He made a sarcastic grin, "And, you're not even with the Wildlife Service – neither of you are." He narrowed his eyes even further with accusation.

Katherine couldn't help but be a little startled at that – she never thought the man would have really checked up on them, although – she did notice him looking at them differently for a while. She really should have expected this earlier on … oh, well – nothing could be done about it now. She noticed her brother's jaw literally drop – he obviously wasn't expecting this at all. Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later in their hunting life…

"That's right." Jake nodded, looking impressed with himself. "I checked." But this wasn't a laughing matter. Pretending to be an official wasn't a joke. "The Department's never heard of you two." Sam locked his jaw back up, looking just stunned now.

Kathy tried to play it out a bit, "Well," She made a nervous huff, "You see, I can explain-" She was quickly stopped by the man, "Enough." He said, putting a bit of bite into his last word. He shook his head, almost with exasperation. "Please." He was just so god-damned tired of everything – there were just so many deaths coming to the people he knew – he was just afraid of his Andrea and grandson dying too.

"The only reason you're breathing free air…" He started to explain, looking a little pissed at the same time. "…is because one of Bill's neighbours saw him steering out that boat before you did." Katherine was looking at him, trying to read his facial features – trying to figure out what he was going to do with them. "So, we have a couple of options. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance." He didn't like that idea anyway, too much paperwork involved. "Or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day." He liked that better, at least they'll be away from his town for-good. "You get in your car and put this town in your rear-view mirror..." He started to look slightly aggressive, pointing towards them in a threatening manner. "…and don't you ever darken my doorstep again."

Sam cleared his throat uncomfortably after a moment, "Door number two sounds good." He tried be was cool with the situation – but inside, he just knew he and his sister were damn lucky to even get the choice to leave as free people.

The Sheriff liked his answer. "That's the one I'd pick too." Katherine never said a word, she just glanced towards that door again, the one that Lucas had walked out off – she just knew they couldn't leave him, leave this town – not until this case was settled and that little boy was okay again.

…

Katherine decided to humor her brother in leaving, but the pull for staying was getting tougher and tougher each mile they passed. That awful feeling just wouldn't go away, them leaving was a big mistake in her mind. It wasn't until they got to the ' _Milwaukee_ ' county sign that her thoughts started to jumble together – she couldn't focus on anything but the terror she saw on that little boy's face. The car halted at the red light, seconds ticking by in which seemed like minutes.

"Green." Sam jolted her out of the mind-boggling thoughts, making her head turn to him – a confused look crossing her face.

"What?" She frowned, not looking over to him – she just stared ahead at the road that led back into town. If she drove that way – they'd be back in town within twenty minutes – be back at Andrea's by thirty.

"The light's green." Sam repeated, turning to her with another worried look – his sister looked completely out of it, maybe he should have driven?

Katherine knew in her heart, that if they left now – she'd regret it for the rest of her life – she couldn't get Lucas's episode out of her head, it pained her to see a little boy hurt … an innocent child ….

Without even a second thought, Kathy put her foot on the gas and steered right – driving down the road towards the town they had originally left. Sam was puzzled, "The interstate's the other way." He told his sister, why was she going back into town? Did she want to get thrown in jail?

She let out a breath in reply, "I know." Nodding her head. She looked at him for a second, "But something doesn't sit right with me, Sammy." She revealed, shrugging her shoulders a little helplessly. "I don't think this is over."

"But," Sam started, shaking his head – not seeing what she could possibly mean, he couldn't see anything more. "Kathy, I really do think it's over. Bill Carlton's dead – the spirit got what it wanted."

"I don't think so, Sam." Katherine shook her head again, not so sure on that – why was Lucas so petrified when the Sheriff told him and Andrea to go home? It was like he was scared to go back to that place … something was about to happen … and they needed to stop it.

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney, and Peter's sprit got revenge … case closed." He summed it up nicely … too neatly if you asked her. "The sprit should be at rest."

"Okay," Katherine begun to say, her tone in between sarcastic and questionable, "So, what if we leave … and this thing isn't done?" She cocked an eyebrow, looking over to him as she awaited an answer. "What if we've missed something and it'll get a lot of people hurt in the process." Emotion started to carry into her words, and Sam could see that.

Sam clearly didn't understand the internal debate she had been having since Lucas left the station, "But why would you think that?" He exclaimed.

Katherine gritted her teeth in aggravation – couldn't he just go with her on this one? "Because … Lucas was down-right terrified."

Her brother raised an eyebrow – that's why they were going back – because of how the kid reacted earlier, "That's what this is about?" He blinked at her, she truly looked worried for the kid.

She sighed, "I just don't want leave until I know that little boy is okay."

This person in front of him, did not look like his sister – she didn't sound or act like his sister at that point in time. "Who are you … and what have you done with my sister?" He was joking around, he knew when his sister was real or not, it's just … he's never really seen this side to her. He liked it though; it was her coming out of this hard shell of hers and he was glad for that.

Kathy glanced to him, seeing that small grin on his face. She rolled her eyes in protest, "Oh, shut it, twerp."

…

Katherine had quickly parked outside the Sheriff's house; the place where Andrea and Lucas have been living for several months. That feeling in Katherine's gut was growing stronger, the air was silent as Sam turned to her, "Are you sure about this?" He asked, wanting his sister to be sure. He looked around, it was past 11pm, way past bedtime. "It's pretty late, man."

"I'm sure." She replied, putting her finger on the buzzer. The sound hadn't even gone through for a second before the front door swung open from the inside with force – standing in the doorway, gasping for air was Lucas – his eyes were riddled with full-blown panic.

Katherine was suddenly on high alert, her eyes widening at his state – "Lucas?" She bent down to his height quickly, "Lucas?" She grasped his shoulders gently, trying to get him to stay still and calm down – but all that did was make him bolt back inside without a word. Kathy glanced behind to her brother, he seemed to mirror her exact worriedness. Without even another thought for the two – they started sprinting after the little boy; following him up the stairs as fast they could, trying to keep up with his little legs. "Lucas?!"

Water began to pour down the stairs, gallons of it just rushing under their feet – they had to hold onto the wall slightly so they wouldn't slip down the steps. As they reached the top of the stairs – Lucas was banging on the first-left door, the one the excess water was coming from … the bathroom.

Kathy's eyes widened looking at the door, ' _Andrea_!' She thought, all this could only mean one thing. The spirit wasn't done.

"Sam, hold him." She ordered over to her brother; moving the Lucas away from the door in a rush before taking a step back – she thrust out one of her legs towards the door, effectively ripping it off its hinges. Sam was holding the little boy back, he struggled in the older man's arms.

As soon as the door was wide open, Sam and Kathy switched places – Sam rushed into the bathroom, heading straight over to the overfilled tub – the water was literally pouring over the edge, his arms reached into the tub, grabbing a hold of the Andrea's body stuck under the water. He grunted with effort, something very strong was using all its effort to resist his pull. Kathy was having a hard time trying to keep Lucas in her arms, he tried to get out of her grip – trying his hardest to run into that bathroom to help Sam. She knew it wasn't safe for him to be in there, she didn't want him in danger – and she was sure, as a mother, Andrea wouldn't want him in danger either.

The sound of Andrea's heaving broke the surface, her head was out of the water but only by a few inches – it had taken Sam a lot of effort to just get there, but he wasn't going to give up this easily – or at all. Another grunt left Sam's lips as Andrea was plunged back under the dirty liquid. The tub water was grimy and filthy, nothing like how bath water should be like. With another strong heave, Sam was able to gain enough strength to pull Andrea out completely – they fell backwards onto the floor tiles. The female spluttered with tears falling down her cheeks, Sam's arms were around her, trying to protect her modesty with his arms as the woman drew in that needed air she was deprived off for several minutes.

Lucas suddenly went quiet again, he stopped struggling in Katherine's arms – he just stood there with something that looked to be relief in his eyes. He leant back into the brunette, as if needing comfort from that person – and Katherine did this, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, letting the small boy lean in her body – both of them were relieved that Andrea had been saved … this was a win for them, and a blessing.

All that Sam could think was, that his sister was right – if they hadn't come back to this house … Andrea would be dead … and Lucas would have lost his mother in the process and possibly his own life.

…

The next morning when light had appeared in the sky – Sam, Andrea and Lucas were downstairs; Sam was talking with the mother to see what she had heard/seen during her traumatic experience. Katherine on the other hand, was looking through the family's memories in the back room – there were many books and pictures to do with this family. There were stacks of Andrea growing up, some of Lucas since the moment he was born – but the one's Kathy was interest in, was the Sheriff's childhood. It's the only real logical thing she could think of – he would have been about the same age as Bill at the time of Peter's disappearance. She didn't want to speculate until the facts were in, but an idea was beginning to form in her head about this case.

It wasn't until she reached the second bookshelf that she found the exact thing she was looking for. There was an old book with photos and awards in it – the cover of it was called, ' _Jake – 12 years old_ '. She flipped through several of the pages, just to be sure … and she found the particular picture she was looking for. She knew this was the one…

…

Katherine walked over to Andrea and Sam who sat at the kitchen table near the window, she placed the book of pictures in front of the woman, pointing to the picture she found earlier. "Do you recognise the kids in this picture?" Pointing to the one where 16 scout explorers were lined up in a group, looking happy towards the camera. Kathy placed her hand on the table, leaning her body down a little as she looked to Andrea – waiting for an answer. She needed to make sure Jake, Bill and Peter were in this picture. She had found Bill and Peter already – it was just Jake that needed to be confirmed.

"What?" Andrea looked startled at the question, not really understanding too why this picture was so relevant to her traumatic experience - one that she had been explaining to Sam at that moment in time. "Uh," Her eyes glazed over the line of boys, spotting one that was familiar. "Well no, I mean expect that's my dad there..." She stated, point to a boy standing next to Peter, "He must've been about 12 in these pictures." Not realising that this book contained all of her father's twelfth year memories.

Katherine sighed at that, shaking her head as she looked over to her brother, "All these drownings, they weren't just connected to Bill Carlton – it must have been the Sheriff too."

Sam nodded, looking surprised they hadn't figured this out earlier. "That makes sense." He agreed with her. "With both of them involved and having the same connections – it's why we didn't figure it out sooner!"

Andrea looked between them with a confused yet sad frown, "What about Chris?" Not understanding a word they were saying. "M-My dad? What are you talking about?"

Kathy didn't listen, she noticed Lucas standing by the back door – the little boy looked out of the window with his head tilted to the side. "Lucas?" She frowned, slowly getting up from her slightly bent posture. She watched him concerned as Andrea twisted in her seat to see what her son was up too. After last night, she didn't want him leaving her sight for not even one moment. "Lucas, what is it?" Kathy asked again, hearing no answer – yet she never expected too the first time. They hadn't heard one word come out of his mouth since they had come to town – and since his father had died. Lucas ignored her, he reached for the door handle and twisted it – opening it and strolling through it, knowing the adults were going to follow him.

…

Sam, Andrea and Katherine continued to follow Lucas all the way up a small hill – he moved a little further before halting in one spot, looking down below him for a couple of seconds. The three adults stopped to watch him; Lucas lifted his head towards Katherine – looking into her eyes. Katherine knew right then what he wanted them to do next – something was buried here, and they needed to find it. She nodded to him before glancing over to Andrea, "You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?"

Andrea still didn't understand but nodded slowly, reaching forwards to grasp her son before trailing him away to leave the Winchester's there.

"We're gonna need those shovels from the trunk, Sam." She said to her little brother, almost telling him to go and get them – they had some work to do and probably with little time to do it.

…

Katherine had taken off her jacket and thrown up her long hair into a loose bun before they got to work, both she and Sam were digging in the spot Lucas had pointed out to them. Kathy had stayed there to basically mark the spot with her body, they didn't want to be digging up in the wrong place after all they've been through with this case.

They continued to dig for ten minutes before the sound of Sam's shovel hitting something appeared. Both Winchester's looked down at it for a moment just before getting onto their knees, using their hands to scrape away the surrounding dirt away from the object – there wasn't much point in using the shovels anymore at this point, most of the soil had already been taken away.

They were able to dig up some kind of handle, with both they're strength – the object was pulled up and out of the soil … they uncovered an old bike that had half of it's body full of rust, but yet you could clearly see that the paint had been red before it's burial.

Sam recognised the bike, "This must be Peter's bike." Kathy nodded, making that conclusion as well.

"Who are you?" A gun cocked behind them, a male's voice emerging. The siblings head's turned around to the man with his gun pointed to them in a threatening manner – they glanced down at the weapon anxiously, neither of them were carrying their weapons – Sam's was in the car, and Katherine's was with her Jacket hanging up on a piece of a tree.

Sam gulped a little in his throat, "Jake, put that weapon down." He told the Sheriff; slowly placing the bike back onto the ground – not wanting the guy to take a shot at them.

The Sheriff's body was shaking, the gun wasn't in a solid position to make a clear shot – the bullet could literally go anywhere if he were to press the trigger – but the weapon was leaning more towards Katherine more than Sam, making a little fear reach into Sam's gut for his sister's safety. "How did you know that was there?" He ordered them to tell him, needing to know how he was found out. He couldn't even look at the bike; it was bringing back too many painful memories, one that he had kept buried for over 35 years.

Katherine tried to ignore the gun, "What happened?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow, "Did you and Bill kill Peter?" She questioned, already knowing the answer but maybe they could get some kind of confession. "Did you drown him in the lake; burying the bike afterwards to try and forget what you did to an innocent child." She could tell Jake was getting even more pent up by her words, "You can't bury the truth, Jake." She stated, full-on knowing what all that felt like. She could never forget one single bad moment … a single bad decision of her life and sometimes it killed her inside – but, it was something she and everyone else in the world had to live with. "Nothing ever stays buried." Ignoring the fact that her words basically told her inner mind that, her secret would one day come to light – and that would be the day her world was destroyed all over again.

Jake swallowed hard, they seemed to know everything … "I don't know what you're talking about!" He insisted, lying through his teeth. They were going to ruin everything he had – even though Peter's spirit was in the middle of doing that already.

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35 years ago." Sam stated this time, a hard note in his tone. He didn't like dealing with humans killing other humans – this hunting gig was easier to deal with, easier to handle when he at least knew that when he killed a demon … he was doing something right in the world. Something that would most-definitely save lives in the future. "That's what we're talking about."

"Dad!" Andrea's voice came running towards them; her father glanced at her approaching movements before keeping his eyes on the siblings – his eyes narrowing towards them, as if daring them to move a muscle.

Kathy glanced towards her too, but finished off what her brother had been saying. "And now, you have one seriously pissed-off spirit."

"It's going to take Andrea, Lucas and everyone else that you love … and then, you'll be the last one on its list." Sam was looking straight to Jake, as if trying to get him to understand what his actions had caused – they needed his help now, to find Peter's body – salt and burn was the only way to truly kill a spirit. "It's going to drown them, and it's going to drag their bodies god-knows where … just so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt." He paused, "It's already done it to Bill … now it's your turn."

The Sheriff didn't seem to believe them, "Yeah?" He scoffed, "And, how do you know that?"

"Like my brother said," Kathy stated, "Because it's already done this to Bill Carlton."

"Listen to the both of you … you're insane!" The gun was now in a steadier hold.

Katherine just straightened up and shrugged, not feeling at all threatening by the gun anymore. "So? Both of us have had our fair share of names and to be honest, I couldn't give a rat's ass about any of them – from them or you. What you think of us – it doesn't matter. All that we care about … is saving people and hunting the monsters who end people lives too early."

"Now," She continued, "If we're going to bring down this sprit once and for all … we need to find those remains, salt them and burn them into dust." Anger started to build up in side of her, "Tell me you _at least_ buried Peter somewhere – not just _dumped_ him in that lake and went on your merry way?"

Andrea didn't know what to think – Katherine and Sam were basically making it look to her that her father had committed a murder … and that all these deaths, they were his fault because of this murder. "Dad…" She looked to her father anxiously, "…is any of this true?" She didn't want to believe this from her own father … she couldn't.

"No." He insisted, glancing over to her for a moment. "Don't listen to them … they're dangerous." He tried to convince his daughter.

As he spoke, something in Andrea snapped – she could suddenly hear it in his voice – he was lying. "Something tried to drown me." Her voice cracked, "Chris died on that lake just like so many others … now, please tell me that you didn't kill anyone." She felt like crying that her father had been lying to her the whole time … that he might have been the one who had gotten her husband killed … and nearly her too, leaving Lucas an orphan with only a lying grandfather left. She watched as her father looked away from her, shame written all over his face. "Oh, my god." She gasped with emotion, she couldn't even look at him – her lips trembled.

Jake looked down, water starting to top under his eyelids as the memories started to come back. "Billy and I were at the lake." He began, he couldn't look towards anyone at that moment but his gun started to lower. "Peter was always the smallest one, we always bullied him. But … but, this time … it got rough." He noticed her looking at him, only just. "We were holding his head under the water…" His daughter stared at him with horror, "…we didn't mean to … but we held him under too long … and he drowned."

The man finally looked over to the siblings, "We let the body go." Answering their previous question as to where Peter's body ended up. "And it sank."

Katherine ran a hand through her hair in frustration, "Shit." She muttered, cursing at the fact that they couldn't destroy this spirit – the only thing that was going to stop it now … was if that lake was all dried up … and that was months away from even being achieved. But even then, the spirit could somehow survive from that with the amount of revenge built into it. Sam seemed to feel the same as her, his jaw clenched – this man was impossible!

Jake turned back to his devastated daughter, "Oh, Andrea … we were kids … we were so scared. It was a mistake." She couldn't look at him again, she couldn't look into those eyes after knowing what he had done. "But, Andrea, to say that I had anything to do with these drownings … with Chris … because of some ghost?" He was practically begging her to understand, he needed her and Lucas in his life – they were all he had left. "It's not rational!"

"All right, listen to me, all of you." Katherine finally cut through his speech, having heard enough of his sorry excuses for one day – they needed to get out of there – or more specifically; Lucas, Andrea and unfortunately … Jake did. She was able to get both adults looking towards her and Sam, "We need to get you three as far away from this lake as possible … right now."

Andrea turned to the side, towards the water and gasped. Lucas was standing on the dock from what she could see – bending down … leaning over the side on the balls of his unstable feet. Jake turned to that direction upon hearing her frightful gasp, his eyes widened in horror. "Lucas!" He yelled in fright – seeing his grandson nearing the water's edge. If what these two were saying was true … his grandson was about to be the next victim. "Lucas!" Without even a second thought, he took off in a run – the others following him close behind.

"Lucas!" Andrea screamed desperately towards her son, "Baby, stay where you are!"

"Lucas!" Both Sam and Katherine repeated the name, but the little boy was ignoring them like usual – but this time, it was like he couldn't even hear. They broke the tree line just as Lucas fell into the water – Jake stumbled to a stop upon seeing a head pop out of the water, just enough so the top of the head could be seen along with the eyes … it was Peter.

The other three ran past him, both Katherine and Sam didn't even pause for a second before diving into that lake – intent on bringing Lucas back up and away from that spirit. Lucas was quickly running out of air, he didn't have long. "Oh, my god!" Andrea screamed in anguish, she started to take off her cardigan but Sam stopped her. "Andrea, stay there!" He told her, as he came back up for air – Kathy was still down underneath.

"No!" She immediately denied, "Lucas!" Her eyes darting around the surface of the water – praying to see some sign that her baby was still alive.

"We'll get him," Sam insisted, water dripping down his face in buckets after having coming up out of the water, "Just stay on the dock." He took another deep breath, going back under the water.

Both siblings came up for air another thirty seconds later … still no sign of Lucas. Katherine turned to her brother, her breathing hardening, "Anything?" She questioned him, her hair falling down and sticking to the side of her face. The hairband that held up her hair was long gone.

Tears began to fall down Andrea's face, "Lucas!" She shouted in pain, "Where are you?!" She prayed to whatever god that was out there … that this spirit, or whatever it was would let her baby go … she needed him back. She needed her little boy back.

Jake glanced at his daughter from the shore line, then to the two Winchesters that were fighting so hard, diving under and try to find his godson. It was like a lightbulb had popped into his head – a moment of clarity forming in his chest … he knew what to do. Quickly, he stripped his Sheriff's jacket off, beginning to walk into the water – fear radiated underneath his skin … but he didn't let that take him over … he was going to save his grandson and end this horror he began with Bill 35 years ago. "Peter!" He started to call desperately, "If you can hear me, please … I'm sorry."

Andrea turned to watch her father, hearing him talking to 'Peter', he was walking into the water, going further and further out, so much that there was no way he could touch the ground. "Daddy?!" She exclaimed, horror at the notion of losing both people she had left running through her mind, "Daddy! No!"

"I-I'm so sorry," Jake had to ignore his daughter, this was the only way to save Lucas – even if it was going to cost his own life. He's lived his … Lucas and Andrea needed the chance to really live they're own. "Let me – Lucas, he's just a little boy … please, it's not his fault … it's mine." He started to choke up, "Please, take me!" He begged.

Katherine and Sam had come back up to the surface by this point, feeling exhausted but were still strong to continue, "Jake, no!" Katherine tried to call over to him, but it didn't work. If he wasn't going to listen to his daughter … there was no way in hell, he was going to listen to her.

"Daddy!" Andrea screamed once again, seeing her father suddenly dragged down below beneath the surface, "Daddy! No!"

Katherine shook her head to herself, Lucas has got to be down there somewhere. "Damn it!" She swore to herself, not being able to save Jake. She took one last deep breath before diving back under – her lungs were screaming for air, her body was over-exerted and her limbs ached with exhaustion. But she kept on going – she went deeper, and deeper and deeper. And it paid off; she found Lucas – his small body was struggling in the water like he couldn't swim, he was trying to get to the surface but nothing seemed to work. She quickly grasped him, wrapping one of her arms around his body – pulling him up with her as she swam towards the surface as fast as she could. She didn't know how long she had been holding her breath … but she was sure it had been over a minute or two, and even then – it had been longer for Lucas.

Sam watched as his sister broke the surface, her mouth taking in a huge amount of air at the impact – her skin was a shade lighter from the lack of air-filled blood in her system … but Lucas was held against her … and this made Andrea cry with relief. Lucas was now fully awake, he too was spluttering for much needed air … he coughed away while Sam helped the two of them back over to the dock. He was too overjoyed to see his sister okay and alive. She had been down there for a near two minutes which was unusual for her to hold her breath for that long, his heart had thumped with fear … it felt like she had been taken by that Wendigo again … he again didn't know what would have happened if she had never come back up for air … or brought Lucas with her for that matter.

…

The next day was the Winchester's official last day in town; neither of them honestly wanted to come back … mostly because someone had died on their watch. But this death was hitting Katherine more than it was for Sam; she had been looking glumly and less cheerful since then, realising Jake was dead – that they couldn't save him from the spirit. She knew that sometimes they couldn't save everyone, but sometimes she just couldn't accept that … it was just hard for her when someone died on a case she was on … it always hit her hard whether she realised it or not. It was a part of being human after all.

They strolled out of ' _The Lakefront Motel'_ after checking out, walking over to the Impala that was parked across the street. Katherine opened up the door to the backseat sat behind her, chuckling in her gym bag – she had worn more comfortable items of clothing today – less professional, and so did Sam. On the way to the next town, they really needed to stop somewhere and wash their clothes – they would do it at the laundry place just over the road here, but both of them really just wanted to leave this town for good. Sam dumped his bag next to hers, his head turning towards her with concern – Kathy looked more emotional than usual – she had done a lot actually during this case, it was hitting her a lot harder than him.

"Look," Sam sighed, seeing her head down, jingling the keys in her hands. "We're not gonna save everybody we ever meet – we never will. You know that better than anyone."

Kathy glanced to him, nodding – she knew that already. "Yeah," She sighed also, "I know." Doesn't mean she had to like it one bit every time it happened.

"Sam!" A voice called to them from the side, "Katherine!" Andrea came up in their vision, she and Lucas were jogging over the road to meet them – smiles plastered on their faces.

Kathy started to smile a little seeing them, glad they were going to see the pair one last time – and she was really happy to see Lucas before they left. "Hey." She and Sam met them on the sidewalk.

"We're glad we caught you." Andrea told them honestly, looking down at Lucas who held the homemade sandwiches they had made this morning for the two travellers. She couldn't thank either of them enough for saving her little boy … it was the least they could do for them. "We just, um, made you lunch for the road." Gesturing the very large plate held in Lucas's grasp. She grinned again, "Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself." She was happy beyond belief, her son was starting to talk again … he finally acknowledged everything going on around him … it was just like before Chris had passed away in that lake.

Lucas let out a small smile, looking up to his mother in question, "Can I give it to them now?" Katherine and Sam finally heard him speak for the first time. The siblings exchanged their own smile – relieved Lucas had started to talk again even after everything he had been through … again.

Andrea kissed the top of his head, "Of course." She replied.

Katherine took this chance to spend some last time with Lucas, "Come on, Lucas … let's load this in the car." She directed him towards the Impala, leaving Sam and Andrea to themselves to talk.

Sam glanced to Andrea, "How are you holding up?" He asked, wondering how the night had been for her. Just yesterday her father had died … Lucas had nearly drowned and so had she.

Andrea huffed a little, already looking exhausted at the question. How was she … really? "It's just going to take a long time to sort through everything, you know?"

"Andrea," He began, remembering about her father … the one who gave up his life to save the grandson. "I'm sorry." Like Kathy, he felt guilty about not being able to save Jake … he just seemed to hide it better than she did right now.

Andrea just gave him a gentle smile, one that said she didn't blame him or his sister for anything that had happened. "You saved my son." She stated, more glad about that than anything right now. And now she was able to watch him grow up – the Winchesters had saved both her and Lucas yesterday … and for that, she was extremely grateful. "I can't ask for more than that." She shrugged with thought growing in her features, "Dad loved me … he loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to … hold onto that."

Over by the Impala; Katherine was sitting, turned outwards towards Lucas who stood in front of her. "All right." She started, looking to the little boy seriously, "If you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase." Her tone was serious, "So, I want you to repeat it back to me one more time." She had been trying to get him into saying something specific.

Lucas grinned, "Zeppelin rules." He said back to her, not really sure what this ' _Zeppelin_ ' was.

Kathy nodded approvingly, "That's right." She raised one of her hands, "Up high." He smacked his palm against her, looking jolly. She just looked at him for a second before sighing, _'She would have been his age by now…_ ' The thought came to her sadly, making her happiness of the talking boy dimmer slightly. It was then she realised Lucas was looking at her, tilting his head in confusion. She cleared her throat, "Alright," She started, trying to look happier after her brief moment of remembrance, "You take care of your mom, okay?"

The boy nodded, "All right." He said with meaning just as Andrea and Sam came over to join them – getting Kathy to stand up from her seat.

Andrea reached over the opened car door, hugging Katherine tightly. "Thank you." She said thankfully, releasing the other woman from her grip.

Katherine nodded to her, glancing to Lucas with one last smile, "Okay, Sammy." She spoke over to her brother, moving around the car to get into her seat, "We're gonna run out of daylight if we don't hit the road now." As the car started up with the two siblings inside ready to go, Lucas and Andrea gave them one last wave good-bye. And with that, they were off … wondering what their next case would be, and in which state…

 **Note: I was finally able to get it done even with my busy schedule. Now I did have to be awake by 6am this morning, meaning I was able to finish the draft last night … but not the edited version until now. (I have to get enough sleep to even get through the working day) But, here we are… I finally have a day off tomorrow after nine days of working non-stop.**

 **Follow, Fav, Review…..**


	11. Phantom Traveler - Part 1

**Clothing:** _ **1**_ _ **st**_ _ **Scene**_ **\- 'Phantom Traveller 1'** _ **Onwards**_ **– 'Phantom Traveller 1.5'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Phantom Traveler – Part 1**

It had been a week since vanishing from Lake Manitoc; leaving Andrea and Lucas to live their lives without the supernatural lingering over their heads. The Winchester siblings were currently staying at a motel Inn several states away, they've only had one case within that week and it was pretty easy again to solve. A simple salt and burn.

Katherine was currently sleeping the day away in her bed, her head buried in the pillow and the covers lying over her body. Sam's bed on the other side of the room was empty, it had been sat on – but not slept in by the looks of it. Sam had gone out to get himself some coffee about half-an-hour ago, leaving his sister to sleep in peace for that little time she had left.

Suddenly, the sound of the door unlocking and slowly being opened made Kathy awaken – she was a very light sleeper, she had to be – it's how she was trained by their father. They needed to be awake upon any danger lingering within their presence. The person opening the door was obviously trying to be quiet, but it wasn't quite enough to stop Katherine from hearing it. She made sure to keep her body looking asleep, but her hand started to make its way to her pillow, inching under it slowly – towards her nightly protective knife. She made sure to always have a weapon besides her at all times these days, you never know when you might need it.

As the door shut louder, she twisted her body so it sat up, only just – looking towards the person/thing coming in. She stopped herself from grasping the knife when she realised who had just entered – it was just her brother, Sam.

Sam grinned, holding two to-go cups – one filled with coffee and the other filled with hot chocolate. "Morning sunshine." He said almost perkily, seeing his sister moaning with tiredness after realising it was him who had come into the room.

Kathy stretched out her body under the covers, turning herself over so her back was connecting with the mattress. "What time is it?" She inquired, a yawn reciting from her mouth.

"About 5:45."

His sister made a whiny sound, "In the morning?!" She sounded like a child not wanting to get up in the morning, "Why, Sammy?!" Cursing at him for waking her up, wrapping her arms around her head to try and block out the sun … she was still so tired.

Sam rolled his eyes, walking over to his bed before promptly throwing his pillow at her – trying to get her up. The pillow hit her in the head and he chuckled. Katherine groaned again, shoving the pillow away before sleepily sitting up in the bed properly. "Why do you always have to be such an early bird?" She grumbled under her breath, looking up at him – just then she saw the black bags under his eyes, he too looked sleepy but even more than her – so why wasn't he still asleep? Unless he never got any … "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah," Sam's voice went up a couple of notches while his head turned away – not able to look at her, making a tell-tale sign that he was indeed lying through his teeth, "I grabbed a couple of hours."

Kathy raised an eyebrow towards him as she folded her legs underneath herself, feeling a little more awake but only because she was beginning to be concerned about her brother's health now. No sleeping was a bad thing, especially when you're a hunter. "Liar." Her tone was blunt and knowing. "When I woke up at three, you were watching the George Foreman infomercial."

Sam didn't look bothered as his arms lifted into the air, the donuts and to-go mugs going up too, "What can I say?" He shrugged, "It's riveting TV." He wasn't as good of an actor as he thought.

"When was the last time you got a good night sleep, Sammy?" She looked up at him with doubt – she was worried even more by how he was acting.

Her brother shrugged again, "I don't know," He answered vaguely, "It's been a while, I guess … It's not a big deal."

Kathy scoffed, nodding her head. "Yeah," She countered, "It's a very big deal."

"Look, I appreciate your concern-" He started to say, but she quickly interrupted him.

"Oh, I'm not just concerned…" She stated, looking seriously in her features and tone, "For one thing, it's your job to make sure I keep my ass alive – and second, we're a team … when your down, I'm down." She pointed out to him, "So, all-in-all, I need you sharp."

Sam gave a sigh, nodding his head – promising himself to try harder to get at least a few hours' sleep when they next stopped. But, how can he go to sleep when nightmares plagued his night every night?

"But, seriously." Kathy continued, leaning forwards so her elbows connected with her bent knees. "Are you _still_ having nightmares about Jess?" It's been nearly a month and a half since her death, his nights should be starting to get better by now. It did for her, only just though…

Her brother just let out a long breath, looking down for a moment before walking over to his bed next to her – plopping himself down onto it glumly. "Yeah." He told her honestly, lying wasn't going to do him much good at this point – she could obviously tell when he was lying these days, just like he could tell when she wasn't telling him the whole truth. He passed her the hot chocolate and one of the sprinkled donuts, "But it's not just her, it's everything." He shook his head, "I just forgot, you know, this job…" He threw the lid to his coffee on the bedside table, "Man, it gets to you." He forgot during his time at Stanford how much hunting can mess with your life, both with every waking moment and with every unconscious moment. Katherine had twisted her sitting body towards him, the blankets still keeping her body warm from her hips and below.

"You can't let it." Katherine advised her little brother, taking a sip from her hot chocolate. "You can't bring it home." She honestly tried follow her own advice many times – but for her, it's nearly impossible to do these days.

Sam cocked an eyebrow, looking to her skeptically, "So, all of this _never_ keeps you up at night?" Kathy shook her head with a purse to her lips, looking sure but he could see it wasn't all the truth. "Never? You're never afraid?" She had to be afraid of this life, no one can go around risking their lives day in and day out and not be afraid to die right then and there.

"No," Kathy continued to shake her head, taking a bite out of the delicious donut in her hands – letting out a small moan at the taste, she loved sprinkled donuts… "Not really, honest." She was sure her brother could tell it was at least a small lie – and partly it was. She was afraid to die a meaningless death; she was afraid her brother would die first, leaving her in this world – and mostly she was afraid of her past coming back to bite her in the ass.

Sam scoffed, smiling a little as he reached forwards under her pillow – pulling out a very long and sharp knife. He held it up with a raised eyebrow, as if daring her to say she wasn't afraid of anything to do with hunting again. "And, what would this be?"

Katherine licked her lips, clearing her throat and swallowing the last of her bitten donut – pointing to the blade, "That is not fear." She insisted, it was for protection. The Winchesters were known hunters in the Supernatural world, and there were a lot of enemies out there – she needed it to feel at least safe in this moldy rooms. She grabbed the shiny, sharp object from him, "That is merely protection." She placed it back beside her pillow, it didn't look like she was going back to sleep anytime soon so it didn't need to go back under the pillow. Might as well keep it out for today's un-planned journey.

Sam shook his head, letting another sigh flow through his lips, "Whatever," He dismissed, "I'm too tired to argue anyway." Just as he finished his sentence, Katherine's phone began to ring. Kathy looked towards it with a frown – wondering who could be calling her. As far as she knew, her father would really be the only one calling this number, but with his current disappearance, she found it unlikely to be him.

She reached over for the phone, flipping it open to hear whom it was on the other end. "Hello?" The number that flashed on her screen wasn't familiar off the top of her head.

" _Katherine_." A male's voice spoke through the receiver, she still didn't recognise him at that point. " _It's Jerry Panowski_." Speaking as though she should remember who he was. Sam was looking at her curiously while crunching on his own donut, leaning forwards to see if he could hear what this person was saying. But the man seemed to realise that his name might mean no-good to her, so he explained when they met. " _You and your dad helped me out a couple of years back."_

"Oh!" Katherine suddenly remembered a Jerry from around two years ago. It had been a poltergeist trying to destroy the man's home – nearly killing him and his wife in the process. "Yeah, I remember. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania." The motel up there really was nice compared to some of the other towns they've been to in the past, they also had some great looking guys too which added a bonus for her. "The poltergeist." Sam felt out of the loop – that must have been around the time he had left, or at least that's what he was thinking anyway. He never helped out with a poltergeist in Kittanning. Kathy's face suddenly morphed into worry, "It's not back is it?" She asked Jerry.

" _No._ " The quick reply came with a huffed laugh, " _Thank God, no_." That man sighed, " _But it's something else, and well, I think it could be a lot worse than a poltergeist."_

Katherine was now officially curious, "What is it?" She asked.

The only thing Jerry responded with was this, " _Can we talk in person_." He requested, not giving her a hint to what they could be dealing with – maybe because he wasn't entirely sure himself? Jerry Panowski wasn't a hunter – far from it in fact…

"Uh, yeah … sure." She nodded, knowing the man couldn't see her to see anyway.

Jerry released a breath of relief into the receiver, " _Oh, good_." He exclaimed, _"I'll see you when you get here."_ And with that, the call ended.

Katherine closed the flip phone, looking up to her brother. "Well," She started, "Looks like we're going to Kittanning, Pennsylvania."

…

Katherine and Sam followed behind an older man through one of the major airport's buildings. This guy; Jerry Panowski, he was one of the head people involved with an airline. You can just call him one of the major managers in charge of everything around here. "Thanks for making the trip so quick." He told the siblings gratefully, leading them towards his office towards the back of the building. "I ought to be doing you guys a favour, not the other way around."

Jerry's head spun towards Sam as they turned a corner, "Katherine and your dad really helped me out." He told the younger man, still looking thankful for what the pair had done for him.

Sam nodded, glancing to his sister, "Yeah, she told me." Kathy had told him everything she could remember about the case on the way here, it _was_ about a three hour drive here from the motel they stayed at last night. "It's was a poltergeist?"

" _Poltergeist?"_ A voice called from somewhere around the room, he had obviously been semi-listening to their conversation, _"I love that movie!"_

Jerry saw the man walk past them, "Hey," He called back to the guy, "Nobody's talking to you. Keep walking." He rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the siblings, "Anyway, damn right it was a poltergeist. The thing practically tore our house apart." He paused, "I'll tell you something though –" He looked over to Kathy this time, "-if it wasn't for you and your dad, me and Bell wouldn't even be alive right now."

They turned another corner, "Your dad said you were off to college, right?" He directly spoke to Sam. John had mentioned it once or twice the last time they spoke.

"Uh, yeah." Sam looked a little startled that the man knew this. He was even more surprised that his father had even talked about it willingly, especially when he never wanted him to go to college in the first place. "I'm just, taking some time off." He made up an excuse for why he wasn't there right now. He wasn't exactly going to say the real reason why he wasn't in school right now, he didn't even want to think about Jess's death. Just thinking about it hurt too much.

"Well, he was real proud of you, I could tell." Jerry stated, "He talked about you all the time."

Sam frowned, "He did?" This was new to him. Did Kathy know about this? If so, why hadn't she told him?

"You bet he did." The guy nodded, but then his eyes widened – remembering something, "Oh, hey," He looked over to Kathy, "You know, I tried to get a hold of him but for some reason I couldn't." He had called several times before calling the number John left for him – evidently linking him back to Katherine. "How's he doing anyway?" Completely oblivious to the fact that their father was currently missing on his own accord.

"He's, uh," Kathy began, glancing over to her brother as they continued walking behind the man – trying to come up with some kind of excuse, "He's out on a different case … couldn't be here, unfortunately."

"Well, we're missing the old man ... but we get Sam. I think that's an even trade, huh?" He commented back, chuckling. This was the first time he's meeting Sam; the kid seems good so far even if his skills haven't been shown yet.

Sam chuckled with him look saddened, he shook his head, "Nah," He denied, his father was a way better hunter than he'll ever be … Kathy too. "Not by a long shot."

"Well," Jerry announced, seeing his office just round the corner, "I got something I want you both to hear."

…

Jerry opened up his cd placer, placing a disc inside, "I listened to this." He was able to get a hold of a copy of the pilot's voice emergency recorder. "And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley." The player closed, "Normally, I wouldn't have access to this." Jerry was sat behind his desk with the Winchester siblings lounging in the two opposite guest chairs – they were waiting to hear what had brought them all the way over to Kittanning, Pennsylvania, "It's the cockpit voice recorder for the United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours."

" _Mayday. Mayday. Repeat…"_ The pilot's voice echoed through the speaker, the voice was crackling with static in the background. Katherine and Sam listen in carefully as it played on, " _This is Britannia flight 2485 … requesting immediate instructions and help."_

A man, obviously on the other end of the helpline replied back to him, " _United flight 2485, we copy your mayday."_

This Pilot was Chuck, one of the seven people to survive this flight – he had lived through whatever terror happened up there in the sky. " _We may be experiencing some kind of mechanical failure_ …" Suddenly, the tape started crackling even more – the voices disappearing instantly, all to be replaced with many much toned growls and hissings. The exact same thought came to both the Winchester's when the sound came through, E.V.P. must be on this tape. If the recording was slowed down, they might be able to get some kind of voice going through there instead of this jumble-ness of noises. Katherine and Sam shared the look, realising the other was thinking the exact same thing. The tape cut rolling, nothing left to be showed or said.

Jerry silently took the tape back out, placing it back into its transparent casing. "It took off from here," Speaking of Flight 2485, "The plane crashed about 200 miles south." He paused, shaking his head, "Now, they're saying mechanical failure…" Speaking from both the recording, to the people posted above him, "…That the cabin depressurized somehow, nobody knows why." Even he couldn't fathom it out … only these two siblings will be able to tell him if it had anything to do with the Supernatural. Something he and his team weren't even equipped to handle, even on a good day.

"Over 100 people were onboard that flight … and only 7 returned alive."

"The pilot was one." Jerry continued, this was one of the main reasons he had called in Katherine and originally her father for this case. This pilot was his best friend, something had created this massacre with his friend flying the plane – it needed to pay for what it did. "His name is Chuck Lambert, he's a good friend of mine." He explained, "Chuck is, uh … well, he's broken up about it – he's thinking it's his fault." It was completely understandable. He too had been a pilot like Chuck before taking this job, the Pilot was the one to keep all the passengers alive – that was the person everyone was going to be counting on to live through the journey.

"You don't think it was." Sam stated. After hearing that noise on the tape, that seemed pretty likely … but at the moment, it was all just hypothetical until he can have a proper look at that tape on his laptop. Slow it down and see if there really was a hidden message; like with the 'Woman in White' back in Jericho, California.

"No." Jerry shook his head, as if knowing something else had caused this tragic event. "I don't." He replied with confidence.

Sam took a glance to his sister, she nodded over to him – accepting that they were going to be at least having a look at this. It did seem like their type of case right now … not completely, but it was enough to get them going. "Jerry," Sam directed his attention back to the older man, "We're gonna need passenger manifests, a list of survivors-" Katherine cut in before he could say another word.

"-Right, and is there any chance we could take a look at the wreckage?" She questioned, they needed to see the acquired pieces to this plane. Maybe there was something useful on them?

"The other stuff is no problem," The man stated nodding to the list Sam had given him, but instantly looked apologetic when it came to Katherine's request. "But the wreckage … guys, the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse." He explained with a sigh, "Unfortunately there's no way I have that kind of clearance."

Katherine waved his apology off; it just means they'll have to use the other way in to see the wreckage if it came to it. Fake ID's, but this time she'll have to make them whole new ones. FBI just wasn't going to cut it this time. "No problem." She said to him, not bothered at all by the turn of events.

…

After leaving Jerry to his work, Katherine and Sam drove up to a 'COPY JACK' store in town. The female Winchester had gone inside to make them a set of new fake ID's while Sam stayed in the car, looking through that tape Jerry had given them a copy of. It had been half an hour after editing that tape when Sam got bored of waiting, he stood outside, leaning against the impala – silently wishing his sister would hurry up so they could get on with the case, and get on with what he had actually found on the tape.

Finally, Kathy's familiar figure retreated from the store, clutching two small laminated cards in her hand. Sam threw his arms up in exasperation, relieved that she had finally come out – he really didn't feel like going in after her. "Finally!" He exclaimed, "You've been in there forever. You were like an actual girl in a clothing store!" Not that this was a clothing store, mind you…

Katherine huffed, walking up to him – not finding that comment amusing. She held up the two cards a foot away from her brother's face, "You can't rush perfection." She stated, showing off her hard work. Both the cards had a picture of her on one, and Sam on the other – all complete with fake-ness.

Sam raised his eyebrows in shock, "Homeland security?" He definitely did not expect her to make ID's for that route. He grabbed the cards from her, getting off the side of the car to stand properly. "That's pretty illegal." He couldn't help but comment, looking down at the newly made cards, "Even for us." He didn't know whether it was wrong to be a little excited about this new ID or not; it's like he knew it shouldn't because identity theft was very bad in itself … but they needed to do it for what they do … they didn't really have much choice in the matter. If they didn't do these illegal things … people would surely die because of it.

"Yeah, well…" Katherine didn't seem bothered about the 'illegal-ness' of the ID's. Everything they really did was illegal, it was just adding another pointer to their invisible record. "It's something new." She shrugged, walking around to the other side of the car, going over to her driver's side. "Something different for once." It was always the same ID they use for every case, she felt spontaneous among other things today – so now they were Homeland Security in this town.

Both siblings opened the car doors, slipping into their seats.

Sam got his laptop back out, opening the screen to show his sister what he had found during her long vacation of time inside the store. "Alright, so what have you got?" She asked him, leaning over to see what he had found.

"Well," He started off, "There's definitely E.V.P. on the cockpit voice recorder." E.V.P. stood for ' _Electronic Voice Phenomena'._

Katherine nodded to herself, "Thought so." Looking over a little more as her brother pressed 'Play'.

The original voices from the pilot and helper were all blurry but the previous hissing and growls were gone, replaced by a demonic voice saying, _"_ _No survivors_ _…"_ You couldn't tell what gender it was, if it was even a male or female – you really couldn't tell.

Katherine cocked an eyebrow, frowning in confusion, "No survivors?" She repeated – that statement didn't make any sense to her. There were seven survivors … what was this thing talking about? "There were seven survivors … So, what'd you think that means?" She asked her brother, wondering if he had an explanation to it, because she sure as hell didn't.

Sam shrugged, not understanding either. "No idea." He replied honestly. Most things never seemed to make sense in a case until later on anyway – it was one of the things that was hated among hunters. Not knowing the un-knowing.

Kathy's left hand played with her braid, her head still turned towards her brother. "So, maybe we're dealing with a haunted flight?" She suggested, "It's not a new thing, it's happened a lot of times over the years - going back centuries."

Sam seemed to like the idea, "There's been a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships." He recited, "Like those Phantom Travelers you once talked about." When he was first getting into the hunting – when he first found out what his sister and father had been doing while he was still a kid, Kathy had given him a run through every day of what she and their father had hunted. Sometimes she even explained a little more; stuff that she had actually found in articles, others being stories that other hunters had mentioned to her and their father about.

Katherine gave a small hum, nodding as he continued.

"Oh, remember ' _Flight 401'_." This one had been an example of hers.

"Hmm." The familiar story coming back to mind, "The plane that crashed about twenty years ago. The airline salvaged several pieces, putting the good-enough parts into other planes." She scoffed a little, shaking her head – it was the most stupid, most dangerous thing someone could have done with those metal remains, "The spirits of the pilot and co-pilot haunted those flights too because of the horrific way they had died."

"Right."

"Yep."

"Well, maybe we have a similar deal?" Sam suggested, looking over to his sister again, finally closing the lid to his laptop before putting it away.

Kathy didn't take that suggestion off the table. "Alright, so, the survivors … who do you want to talk to first?" She asked, not caring who they investigated first.

Sam seemed to know exactly who to see first because he pointed right at the name when Kathy lifted the list up in her hands, "Third on the list." He told her, "Max Jaffe."

"Why him?" Kathy wondered curiously.

"Well," He began, "For one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything … he did."

Katherine's eyebrows creased, "What makes you think that?" She peered over to him.

"Well, I spoke to his mother…." Looking to her with a grin, like he had won first prize for finding the best candidate for information on what happened up there in the sky, "…and she told me where to find him…"

…

Katherine and Sam were at the 'Riverfront Psychiatric Hospital' after finding out Max Jaffe had admitted himself into their care hours after being released from the hospital. It did make sense to go and talk to him about what had happened up there, he was the easiest to find … and, he had checked himself up in a special hospital. No one would do that with their own free will if they hadn't seen something that looked like a hallucination, or even something worse.

The siblings walked beside Max, moving slowly through the grounds of the hospital as he hobbled with a cane next to them. His right leg had been injured during the crash, some of his nerves were now damaged making it hard for him to walk – and it'll be like this for the rest of his life. He was under a lot of stress at the moment.

"I don't understand." Max admitted, looking between the siblings, thinking they were another pair of Homeland Security agents. "I already spoke with Homeland Security." Two guys had already approached him and asked a bunch of questions yesterday. He was honestly getting sick of all the questions, why couldn't these people just leave him alone, to heal?

"Right." Katherine nodded, looking sympathetic, "Well, some new information has come up … so if you could just answer a couple more questions, it'll be a great help to us."

"Just before the plane went down-" Sam began to question lightly, "-did you notice anything unusual?"

Max shook his head, unsure of what they were trying to ask. "Like what?" He questioned.

Kathy began to list some of the things that were connected with spirits, "Something like strange lights … weird noises, maybe. Voice, even?" She knew they were probably sounding completely nuts to this guy – he was in a metal hospital for peeks sake!

Max just seemed to stare at her for a moment before replying, "No, nothing." He limped over to sit in a chair that had a table and two other chairs with it. The two _'agents'_ followed him in sitting down, one of them either side so he was stuck in the middle.

"Hmm." Katherine hummed, lowering herself into her seat. "Mr. Joffe."

"Jaffe." The man quickly corrected her, looking a little irritated.

"Jaffe." Kathy corrected her own mistake, looking over to him. "You checked yourself into this place yourself, right?" She questioned. Max nodded, staying silent. "Can I ask why?" Katherine couldn't really see the appeal towards the place anyway … there wasn't exactly anything special about it, just a bunch of patients and doctors walking around pretending they know what's wrong with you.

"I was a little stressed." He replied back, looking a little defensive. "I survived a plane crash, not many people can say that!"

"Uh-huh." Kathy nodded back, leaning back in her chair in thought. "And that's what terrified you?" She questioned, looking skeptical at the reason. "That's what you were afraid off?" She didn't think it was, she could see something else in his eyes. She had a hunch that he ' _hallucinated_ ' something back on that plane, and that, is where she and Sam will find their answers.

"I-I don't want to talk about this anymore." He stuttered back in reply, wanting them to go away now … to leave him alone with his imaginary version of what happened on that plane.

"See," Kathy continued, ignoring him as she leaned forwards once again – leaning against the table with her elbows, "I think maybe you did see something up there … you just don't want to talk about it." She stared at him for a moment, "We need to know what that something was."

"No." He began, speaking to himself for a moment before turning towards the siblings again, "No, I was delusional." He denied. What he had seen … it wasn't real … it couldn't have been real … what he saw, it wasn't physically possible to do! "Seeing things." They would just simply say he was a nutter, completely crazy!

Kathy turned to her brother, her face blank. "He was seeing things." She repeated, almost mockingly but with a hint of irritation to her tone.

Sam took this as a sign to continue for her, she was starting to get pissed off by this guy's lack of good answers – he could tell, and really, he didn't blame her. "It's okay." He told Max, his popular puppy dog's eyes coming into play. He looked comforting, like someone you would want to talk to about something bad happening to you. "Just tell us what you thought you saw, please."

Max sighed, having a small internal debate going on inside of him – still unsure on whether he should tell them what he _thought_ he saw, "There was this man." He began slowly, giving into those eyes Katherine was sometimes too scared to look at – Sammy almost got anything he wanted with those creepy eyes of his. "And he had theses … eyes, these, uh, black eyes." He seemed to be remembering everything as he spoke, "And I saw him … or, I _thought_ I saw him…" He swallowed hard in his throat, not being able to say it.

"What?" Kathy questioned, looking interest, especially with these 'black eyes' being revealed.

Max let out a small huff, thinking himself as really crazy. "He opened the emergency exit." The experience felt so real … but at the same time, it felt too impossible to believe. He didn't see the two siblings sharing a secret look in front of him, he just continued with his weird story. "But that's – That's impossible, right?" He looked between the two, silently hoping they would tell him he had hallucinated this part of the crash to slightly rationalise what happened to the plane. "I mean, I looked it up. There's something like two tons of pressure on that door!"

Kathy did start to look a little wary at that – what could really open up a door with that much pressure forcing onto it? They were definitely not dealing with anything of the usual kind, that's for sure…

"This man." Sam leaned forwards with curiosity, "Did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly?" Now he was the one to look crazy. "It would look something like a mirage." He explained the best he could.

Max gave him a look that clearly said ' _Really?_ ', "Are you nuts?" He said out loud, pausing for a moment. "He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me, next to the window."

Katherine knew they weren't going to get anything else from him – they had gotten everything they needed anyway, "Alright, thanks for your time." She gestured towards the exit to Sam – silently telling him they were leaving now. "We'll leave you alone now." They knew where their next stop was going to be … visiting one of the victim's houses, hopefully there's going to be someone living there who knows this mysterious person. Either this victim was a whole different creature with a death wish, who had literally just killed himself for the fun of it along with nearly a hundred human people … or he was possessed by something to create such a disastrous event.

 **Note: I had a hard time wondering where I should put my chapter breaks (I'll either be doing three-four parts for each episode), so I put it here for now – if I need too I'll change it like before. But here we are, four days later again … that seems to be a common theme so far, huh?**

 **I did have a question for those readers who have read my other earlier stories before this one … do you guys think I'm getting better as a writer? It can be on anything that you think is better, please let me know – I'd love to hear what you think…** _ **please**_ **…**

 **Anyway, please let me know what you think of this chapter too…**


	12. Phantom Traveler - Part 2

**Clothing:** _ **Scene 4+5+6+7 -**_ ' **Phantom Traveler 2'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Phantom Traveler – Part 2**

It took about an hour to get to the next place of investigation; George Phelps's place of residence. When they did, they were met with a very nice neighbourhood of two-story houses. All of them several years old but well-kept and modern. "Here we are," Sam announced, glancing at the map and deceased list in his hand, "George Phelps, seat 20C."

Katherine gazed up to the house through the window screen – the place looked normal, it was settled in a quiet neighbourhood that didn't look at all suspicious. Maybe this 'George Phelps' wasn't the one they were looking for? She opened her door, slowly getting out along with her brother when she commented, "Man, I don't care how strong you are, even hacked up on PCP or something … there is no way a normal human like you and me, can you open up an emergency exit-door during a flight."

"Then, maybe this guy isn't human?" Sam suggested, looking behind himself – seeing his sister leaning against the Impala – they were both gazing up at the house curiously. "He could be something else – some kind of creature, maybe? Something that can appear as human?"

Katherine gave an amused scoff, her thumb scratching the side of her cheek before making the sarcastic comment, "Does that place look like a creature's lair to you?" Gesturing up to the vanilla looking house. She was pretty sure that anything that's evil would never be caught alive in that place, let alone want to live in it all year round.

Sam gave a sigh, looking back over to the building. "I guess not." He shrugged, but this was the best lead they had right now. If they didn't find anything here, he was sure Katherine would suggest that they take a look at that wreckage.

…

Katherine and Sam knocked on the door of the filed residence for George Phelps, turns out he had a wife – one that looked about the same age as him in the photos. The woman had invited them in upon hearing they were from Homeland Security; she had grabbed them both a glass of water before taking a seat in her living room, the two Winchesters sitting on the opposite couch ready to ask her questions.

Inside the house was just as normal as the outside; everything was neat and tidy, all the furniture was clean but well-used. There wasn't a spec of dirt to be seen, everything looked completely … non-evil personified. No odd symbols, artifacts or anything that could direct the Winchesters into believing anything suspicious.

Sam noticed a photo frame with a picture of the victim inside, "This is your late husband?" He confirmed, showing her the picture he was holding his hands. The man himself was in his late 40's, early 50's – he had a small bald spot of hair above his forehead and dozens of aging wrinkles. The photo was probably taken on a holiday the couple went on several years ago because he had the 'vacation' look to him. His hair was also full brown, unlike his current DMV photo that showed him has starting to turn grey from the roots of his head.

The woman; Bonnie Phelps, sniffed sadly as she gazed at the photo. "Yes," She nodded, she looked all cried-out and seemed a little more numbly than most people would in this situation. "That was my George." Bonnie covered herself in makeup to vanish many of the older wrinkles appearing on her skin. She had shoulder length light brown hair that was obviously dyed, the roots of her hair were also starting to show a little grey against the light coming from the living room window. She looked healthy and well kept; her body was still in good shape for her age too.

Kathy pointed over to the photo, "And, you said he was a dentist?" What kind of supernatural creature would want to tend to human's teeth? This guy was looking more normal and human by the second – it didn't make sense when you place the facts next to it.

"Uh-huh." Bonnie nodded again as Sam placed the photo back in its place. "He was heading to a convention in Denver." She blinked, feeling a small ounce of guilt for letting her husband fly over there. She had insisted that he go to this convention by plane instead of driving, she was afraid that he'd get into some kind of car accident because of tiredness. The trip in a car was at least a day or two's worth driving. "Did you know that he was petrified to fly?" She couldn't help but comment, making her guilt a little more pronounced. Her bottom lip began to wobble, "For him to go like that…" Her voice cut, not able to speak anymore in fear of her eyes bleeding with salty water once again.

Sam tried to comfort her, "How long were you married?" He inquired, leaning forwards so his elbows connected with his knees.

The questions was able to get a smile out of her, "Thirteen years." She said with pride and love.

"And in all that time…" Sam continued, a curious look crossing his face, "…did you ever notice anything strange about him?" He paused. "Anything out of the ordinary?"

Bonnie's brows furrowed with confusion for a second, "Well…" She began, trying to think back to what they might mean. "…he- he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean?"

Katherine sighed to herself, sharing a look with her brother, this little get-together wasn't getting them anywhere. Seeing this woman hadn't helped them find the next clue to what this creature or thing could be. If it wasn't obvious before, then it was now – this guy was just an ordinary human being like they were … to a degree. Something must have possessed the guy because nothing else made sense otherwise.

…

"I mean, it goes without saying," Sam was saying to his sister during the walk down from the front porch, "It just doesn't make any sense."

Kathy hummed in agreement, "Yeah, the guy's a middle-aged dentist – there's nothing special about him that could be evil personified." They finally hit the side-pathway, she turned to her brother as they starting heading over to the car, "You know what we need to do now … getting inside that NTSB warehouse would be our best bet. Check out what's left of that plane." She looked excited although she tried to hide it. This would be their biggest challenge when it came to Fake ID's and she was ready for it.

Sam glanced to his sister's face as they approached to a stop, "Okay." He sighed, hating it a little to admit that this was the best action to take next. He glanced down Kathy's clothing before grinning slightly, "But, if we're going down that route – we need to look the part." His tone was amused because he knew she'd hate what he was going to say next.

…

Kathy groaned looking down at her new attire, cursing at her brother verbally. The heels clicked under her feet, and the grey dress she was wearing felt tight and uncomfortable. She exited with her brother after paying for the new clothes; she swore that once this case was over, she was going to burn every last bit of this outfit, including these walking death-poles attached to her feet. "Oh, come one, man!" She exclaimed in a whiny manner, twisting around to the brother who was comfortable in a nice black business suit, "I feel like a freaking stiff twig!" She could only move her legs apart so far, meaning she had to make way too many steps than she usually does. She couldn't even run in these ridiculous shoes; she felt completely out of her comfort zone.

Sam just watched her, amused. This was actually the first time he's seen her wearing a dress … and the first time she's wearing proper heels too, not the sneaker ones she usually wears. "You look fine, Kath." He assured her.

Ignoring him, she kept moving about in the new clothing with an uncomfortable frown on her face – she tried to stretch out the skirt part of the dress, but nothing happened. She groaned in annoyance, too bothered to continue.

"Why couldn't I have just worn some black pants and flats?" She questioned again with a huff.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Because you're supposed to be a girl." He stated, "Female agents out investigating, {not in actual combat} wear those types of things." If she was posing as an agent who caught bag guys, then yes, she should be wearing pants and maybe smaller heals. However, the two of them were posing under two agents that weren't people who go chasing after bad guys. They're just the investigators in the unit.

Kathy grumbled under her breath, probably swearing several times in the process. "I hate this thing." Walking towards the Impala with the new briefcase she had clutched in her hand.

"Hey!" Sam protested, walking next to her. "Do you want into that warehouse or not?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. This _was_ her idea after all…

Katherine just shifted irritably in the new business jacket. "Shut up." She grumbled, walking over to her side of the car. Ready to get this thing over and done with as quickly as possible – she missed her jeans and combat boots...

…

It wasn't long until the show was on the road: both Sam and Katherine were currently in the warehouse. It had been pretty easy to get in actually, the security guards took their fake identities as the real things and let them through. Katherine had tried to not look so shifty in the new outfit, the labels from the dress seemed to be itching away at the back of her neck and hip. She officially hated this case.

The warehouse itself was massive; too big in fact for the so little pieces that remained from the plane. On the floor was a plane diagram, showing how big the plane actually was. It looked to them that whoever was overlooking the wreckage, was slowly piecing it all back together to see what else was missing. The diagram was probably a little smaller than the real size actually. Katherine couldn't quite tell, she was never the one to be fond of an aeroplane. She was honestly terrified of them to be honest, but this was an easy fear to hide from everyone especially when she drove everywhere.

The two Winchesters started their search at the nose of the plane, everything was still pretty scattered but most pieces were much too burnt from the crash. Katherine reached inside the pocket of the new jacket she wore, pulling out a small electronic device – something that looked to be a radio player of some kind. But this one seemed different, it looked handmade.

Sam frowned when he noticed the machine in his sister's hand, "What's that?" He couldn't help but ask, seeing the earphones connected being placed in the ear closest to him. It looked like some kind of radio/music player, but it was pretty banged up to be one that still actually works.

Kathy glanced to him, taking the earphone out for a moment, "It's an EMF meter." She told him, smiling slightly at her prized possession – she had been able make on herself. It had been a proud moment for her during the dark period. "Reads electromagnetic frequencies." She explained, although he should know by now what an EMF meter does. Or at least he should be able to remember it from before he left.

"Yeah, I know what an EMF meter is." Sam rolled his eyes, looking a little annoyed. Katherine stopped and turned towards him as he continued, "But why does that one look like a busted-up Walkman?"

Kathy held it up, smiling proudly for herself. "It's what I made it out of, it's homemade – cool huh?" Without even waiting for a reply, she placed the earphones back into her ears, continuing down the plane's ruins, listening for any signs that something supernatural may have come into contact with anything here.

Sam shook his head, he wasn't going to say anything to retort that. She seemed to like it, somehow like it was her own toy. Growing up, Kathy never had toys – she never really had any type of childhood come to think of it – she was always watching out for him and getting him at least one toy (well, stealing one anyway) but it's the same thing to her. It did make sense to have some kind of EMF meter during their hunts, it'll make everything so much easier when they need to find something when their own human senses couldn't detect it. He watched as Kathy hovered the EMF device over the wreckage with a good distance between them – her features shifting with concentration.

Sam stayed behind her, looking over the parts with just a sight view – trying to see anything that looked odd.

The two of them walked further through the left-over plane, finally coming up to the emergency door that had been salvaged. Katherine hovered her EMF meter over it for a second, successfully hearing a beeping, buzzing sound that indicated something supernatural was attached to it.

"Check out the emergency-door handle." Katherine noted to her brother, taking out the earphones from her ears. She looked closer at the door handle, seeing some kind of substance burned into the metal. She scratched at it for a moment, feeling a brittle hardness under her nails. "What the hell is this stuff?" She frowned, not liking the feel of it on her fingers. She wiped the remainder on the side of her brother's new suit, something of which he did not look pleased about.

Sam shrugged after his moment of irritation, "Only one way to find out." He said, getting something out from his own jacket this time. He took out a pocket knife, starting to grate the hard substance into a dust that conveniently fell into the small dish he also kept in his pocket. They could get Jerry to have a look at it for them, maybe it's just a common substance for a plane – but then, why would it beep under an EMF meter if it wasn't?

Katherine sighed, looking back towards the door they had come in from, "We should go." She told her brother, not wanting to be caught in the fake-ness act. She was sure at least one person was going to find them suspicious soon – and if another set of agents actually did come in from Homeland Security. The word 'screwed' would be an understatement.

…

The Winchester siblings had found a back way out of the warehouse, they wanted to be quiet and swift in their escape. Soon, they were walking around outside, moving towards a fence that was used as a barrier to keep anyone from coming in – or to keep imposters like them from escaping before being caught.

Suddenly, a very large and loud alarm began to blare on the base. The two siblings shared a similar state of panic, knowing they had been found out. It's a good thing it didn't happen while they were searching through the remaining plane parts.

"Crap." Kathy swore, starting to jog but it was useless in this ruddy pencil skirt of a dress. She grabbed her own pocket knife hidden away in the blazer, opening it before promptly making a tear down the left side of the material covering her thigh. Sam was already by the fence, stripping his jacket off and throwing onto the top of the fence. This was useful so the metal fence wouldn't cut them in the process of escaping.

The two of them jumped over the fence, pulling over their individual weights. Thankfully Katherine was able to move her legs a lot more now, if she hadn't made a tear in the skirt, she wouldn't have even made it over. Honestly, she'll be so glad to get this rubbish clothing off when they get back to the hotel.

"I really do hate dresses." Katherine told her brother again for good measure. She saw her brother glance back at the base, "Come on, we need to get out of here." With that, both siblings ran back to the Impala, needing to get away as fast as possible before actually getting caught.

…

Not even an hour later, Katherine and Sam were back in Jerry's office still wearing their Homeland Security outfits – they had brought him the sample from the emergency door, already knowing he'd have the equipment needed to take a closer look. They never brought anything like that with them during their travels – maybe they should bring a pocket microscope … wait, do they even exist?

The blown up picture of the substance was on a tiny screen placed on the desk. "Huh." Jerry made a noise, looking up towards the siblings. "This stuff is covered in sulfur." He told them, knowing that's exactly what they needed to know. He may not be a hunter, or even hunter material – but he could still do his homework during his down-time.

Sam glanced at the sample, "You sure?" He asked, wanting to be certain – he knew his sister would want to be too.

Jerry nodded, moving to the side. "See you for yourself." He made room for Sam to come over and have a look. The younger Winchester got up from his seat in front of the desk, moving around to peer through the small piece of glass that made the particles look larger. Suddenly, large banging sounds appeared through the closed doors of the office – it sounded like someone was bashing a bunch of things together – voices could be heard, shouting. Jerry's face morphed into a blank pissed-off one, "If you'll excuse me…" He started, his eyes narrowing on his office door, as if he had x-ray vision to see who was being an imbecile. "I have an idiot to fire." He then left the office with the two Winchesters to discuss what was found. " _Hey Einstien! … Yeah, you! … What the heck do you think you're doing?!"_

Sam moved out of the way as his sister bent down to have a closer look too, he went back over to the chair – sitting down, wondering what his sister was going to say they were doing next. "Hmm." Kathy hummed, thinking. "Now, we know something for sure. Not many things can actually leave behind a sulfuric residue, so that decreases our list a lot."

"Demonic possession?" That seemed the most likely.

Kathy nodded, looking up from the microscope, "That would definitely explain how a mortal man, was able to gain the strength in opening up an emergency hatch."

Sam didn't like where this case was heading, this was becoming big if it were demonic possession. That would mean another crash could happen again … and soon. "But that would only be possible if the guy was possessed."

"However…" Kathy began, looking uncomfortable too at this idea too. "…this goes way beyond what we usually deal with. This isn't just some silly ghost or some freaky ritual." She stood, placing her hands on her hips. "It's one thing for something to possess someone, but to take down a freaking airplane…?" She ran a hand through her hair with frustration, she's never dealt with something this big … and with planes.

"Have you ever heard something like this?" Sam asked, uncertain but interested to know.

Katherine shook her head, sighing with defeat – concern filling her features. Right now she had no idea what to do. "No, never." One of her shoulders lifted into a half-shrug, "Honestly, I don't think dad would have either. Or, if he did, he's never mentioned anything like this to me in the past."

…

Later that day, Katherine and Sam were back in the normal clothes they were previously wearing, and Kathy was reveling in it – promising that she'll never wear that ridiculous attire again. But a part of her knew that it wouldn't happen. The walls were fully covered with pictures of myths, demons and spirits, different evils that might be able to cause this much chaos so easily. There were just so many…

"So every religion and world culture has the concept of demons and possession." Sam explained, reading from the laptop in front of him. He was set up on the two-person round table while his sister sat on one of the beds, reading from the various books scattered around her - these books had actually been taken from the library down the street. "I mean; Christian, Native American, Hindu … you name it."

Katherine had hit that point too, "Yeah, but none of them describe this." Throwing a book away from her, there was nothing useful in it at all.

Sam held up a finger, silently telling her not to jump to conclusions just yet. "Well, that's not actually true." He told her, looking back to his computer screen. "You see, according to Japanese belief, certain demons are behind certain disasters … both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes and the other causes disease."

Katherine frowned, a little interested but confused at the same time. "And this one causes plane crashes?" Sam gave her a sheepish look, obviously letting her know that nothing like that had been found. She let out an exasperated breath, tired already of all this pointless research – she rubbed her hands down her face before getting up, needing to stretch her legs. Well, it _was_ pointless, they were coming up with nothing relatively helpful. "All right," She began again, pacing slowly. "So, what we have is a demon that evolved with the times _and_ found a way to ratchet up the body count?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded, sadly. "This thing's probably brought down a lot more planes before now – we just don't know about them."

Katherine scoffed, feeling the pressure on her shoulders tightening. She scratched her head, pacing a little more – this is ridiculous, if they can't find the stupid thing … how were they ever going to stop it? If their father was here, he'd know exactly what to do. But right now, it's feeling like he's abandoned them … her.

Sam looked up to his sister, looking worried about how hard she was beating on herself. "You alright, Kath?"

"I don't know, man" She admitted, shrugging – scoffing again to herself. "This isn't our normal, run-off-the-mill gig." She turned around, seeing him look to her – she waved her hands up as a gesture, "I mean, demons don't was nothing, all they want is death and destruction for its own amusement." She paused, "I mean, this is big. I just wish dad was here … he'd know what to do."

Sam couldn't disagree on that. "Yeah." He nodded, "Me too." He hoped they would find their father soon; for both his sake and Kathy's.

Suddenly a cell phone rang in Kathy's pocket. She frowned but got it out, opening it up to answer the call. "Hello?" There hadn't been a caller ID again.

" _Katherine."_ Jerry's voice came through loud and clear, " _It's Jerry."_

Katherine's eyebrow creased, hearing sadness in his voice, "Oh, hey, Jerry." She replied.

" _My pilot friend_ …" He stated why he was calling, the subject to why he sounded so sad, "… _Chuck Lambert, is dead."_ The man sniffed.

It took a moment for Katherine to reply, she was honestly startled but the news. "Oh, god." She muttered, "Ah, man. Jerry, I'm so sorry. What happened?" Sympathy driven in her voice for the man that was spoken highly for. Sam looked up again from his computer, looking confused as to _what_ Jerry might have told her. He gave her an interested look but she just silently told him with her lips, 'Later'.

" _He and his buddy went up in a small twin about an hour ago."_ Jerry explained, " _The plane went down."_

Something didn't sit right in Katherine's stomach. "Where'd this happen?" This guy had died not even days after the plane crash that killed hundreds – this didn't feel like a coincidence.

" _About 60 miles west of here, near Nazareth."_

Katherine huffed, seeing something click with that statement. "I'll try and ignore the irony in that." She murmured to herself.

" _I'm sorry?"_ Jerry didn't understand.

"Nothing." Kathy shook her head to herself, waving off the subject. "Jerry, look, hang in there, all right?" She told him. "We'll catch up with you soon." She promised, knowing they'll be seeing him again within another couple of hours. She caught her brother eye as she hung up, probably already knowing what she was about to say because of the look she wore.

"Another crash?" Sam guessed.

"Yeah." She nodded back, putting away her phone. "Come on, we need to go." Going over to the bedside table, grabbing the keys and gun.

"Where?" Sam closed the lid of his laptop, stashing it away promptly.

"Nazareth."

…

"Sulfur?" Katherine guessed, looking over Jerry's shoulder as he tested the sample she and Sam had gotten from the wreckage back in Nazareth. They had basically done a quick scoop of the damages left behind, finding the same substance as before on one of the leftover panels to the twin jet.

Jerry looked up, moving away from the sample. He nodded, still looking upset about his friend – mostly because … by the looks of it; the thing that killed those hundred people had just killed off one of his best mate's ... and this time succeeding in its plan.

"Well, that's great." Katherine grumbled in a sarcastic manner before turning serious, "So, that's now two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert." She looked over to Sam who sat in Jerry's chair this time. "This demon sounds like it was after him." She summarized.

Sam turned to Jerry first, looking slightly apologetic by what he was going to be saying – and for what his sister had just said. "With all due respect to Chuck." Jerry just waved him off, nodding with understanding – he was okay with the assumptions, but didn't have to like it. Sam turned back to Kathy, "But, uh, if that's the case, then this would be good news."

"What's the bad news?" Katherine asked.

Sam bit his lip, leaning back in the chair. "His plane went down after 40 minutes." His eyes connected with hers, hoping she'll understand what he was about to insinuate. "And get this, so did flight 2485."

Kathy looked peeved, her head turning up to the ceiling with a sigh – this wasn't good. "Shit." She swore under her breath, knowing they were in for something more worse than they thought.

Jerry didn't get the meaning of this though, "Forty minutes." He repeated, "What does that mean?"

"It's biblical numerology." Katherine glanced to him, he was now standing beside her. "You know, Noah's Ark? It rained for 40 days. The number 40 literally means death."

Sam nodded, glancing to Jerry's computer. As soon as he had connected the number forty, he began to look through all the records containing plane crashes that occurred 40 minutes after the flight had begun. "I went back, and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade alone. All of them have one thing in common; they all went down 40 minutes in."

Wow, that's a very high body count in such a short period of time. "Any survivors?"

Sam shook his head, "No." There had been no mention of anyone living past this day, hundreds of people were just … dead. "Or, not until now at least." He corrected himself, this was the first time anyone had actually survived. "Not until flight 2485, I have no idea why though."

"The cockpit voice recorder." Kathy realised, going back to what the voice had said.

Sam remembered too because realisation filled his features, "The voice said ' _No Survivors'_."

"That's right." She nodded back, "It's going after all the survivors. Finishing the job it wasn't able to finish the first time."

 **Note: Sorry about the huge delay in an update for this chapter. I've been trying to catch up with others too.**

 **I would have tried to get the last part up soon but my laptop once again is having to be taken to BestBuy. They're sending it back to the depot again to try and fix it. This is the third time i've had to take it back and i'm honestly pissed. This will probably be the last update for any stories (other than the two i'm able to edit online for two other stories) 2-4 weeks depending on when my laptop is return all wiped, again…**

 **Let me know what you think, follow, fav and review would be amazing!**

 **Lisa.**

 **Hopefully i'll be up and running again soon with updates. Let's pray.**


	13. Phantom Traveler - Part 3

**It's been a long while but I'm slowly getting back to updating chapters on many of my fanfics; I have the week off from college so I'm pretty much spending my time updating as much as I can. (I'm probably going to bounce between fanfic and not update a certain one twice in a row – just a small warning beforehand)**

 **Hope you love the extra-long chapter!**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Phantom Traveler - Part 3**

Soon after leaving Jerry's office, the two Winchester's were zooming down the highway towards the airport where Amanda Walker was scheduled for another flight. Sam was going down the list of survivors, making sure that none of the other victims were to be flying anytime soon. Taking down planes was how this thing kills its victims, they needed to make sure none of the others are in danger before they can boot that thing back to hell.

"...Really?" Sam was speaking into the mobile device in his hand. This was the last survivor to call, other than Amanda who seems intent on ignoring her ringing phone. She must be getting ready for her next flight. "Well, thank you for taking our survey, and if you do plan to fly … please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. Thanks." He closed the phone, sighing. "Alright." Crossing off the two last names he had just called. "Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway won't be flying anytime soon."

"Still couldn't get Amanda Walker 'The Flight Attendant' on the phone?" Katherine guessed, keeping her eyes on the road. It was night now, meaning that road dangers were at it's highest.

"Yeah." Sam nodded, glancing to her. "Her sister Karen said her flight's leaving at 8pm, scheduled to depart for Indianapolis." He had a feeling this woman might not answer his calls; it's why he had insisted that Katherine start the journey towards the airport just in case. "Tonight's her first night back on the job."

Katherine let out an annoyed breath, "Just our luck." She mumbled under her breath, the Universe really did like to screw them over every chance it had. She just silently begged that going on an airplane wouldn't be apart of tonight's agenda, she wasn't in the mood for dealing with her fear of flying.

Sam glanced to the open road they were currently racing down, "Kathy, this is going to be at least another five-hour drive. We might not make it, even with you behind the wheel." He really did know how fast his sister could push the gas - sometimes he was even scared of it.

"Oh, no." She shook her head, determined. "I'll make it - just try Amanda's cell again. See if we can stall her or something until we get there."

Sam didn't seem to think it would do much good. "I've already left her three voice messages." He replied, "She must have turned her cell phone off. Flight attendants aren't even allowed them on their person during a flight." He glanced down at the watch around his wrist, it was already 5:30pm, there was only two and a half hours left when this journey should take over five hours. "Ah, man - we're never going to make it." Looking uncomfortably desperate.

"Don't worry, Sammy." Kathy started speeding up _way_ past the legal speed limit. "We'll make … it just the right time." Sam gulped a little, clutching the armrest beside him. Feeling the force of the speed against his body while Katherine looked completely at ease, concentrating on her fastening speed down the open road.

...

As soon as they arrived at the airport, Katherine and Sam were racing through the entrance doors to the terminal Amanda was supposed to be leaving from. There were hundreds of people either arriving for their flights or going home after being on one. The two of them had to push past many individuals to get to the departures board. They may know which terminal Amanda was leaving from, but not the section as to where she was.

The departures board was jam-packed full of flights leaving over the next couple of hours. It was hard to even find a flight leaving for Indianapolis at 8pm. "Right there!" Sam exclaimed, pointing up to a flight located in the middle of the list. "The flight's boarding in 30 minutes." Luckily for them, the flight had been postponed another hour due to technical difficulties. Maybe the Universe didn't hate them so much after all?

"Alright." Katherine nodded to herself before glancing to her brother, "We still have some cards to play though." An idea came to mind, "Where's a phone?" She looked around for one of those airport service phones that were usually hung up on a wall. Just metres away, a courtesy phone was hanging up on one of the white wall poles, just like she thought. "Come on." She grabbed his arm, dragging him with her.

Kathy picked up the phone and almost instantly a voice appeared on the other end. _"Airport services."_

"Gate 13." She answered.

" _Who are your calling, ma'am?_ _"_

"I'm trying to reach an Amanda Walker … she's a flight attendant on the departure list for Indianapolis. Flight 424."

" _Okay, one moment please._ " There was a pause on the other line, but it only took just under a minute for another woman to speak on the other end. _"_ _This is Amanda Walker._ _"_

Katherine looked to her brother with a little relief, the woman was finally answer a damn phone. "Miss Walker." She started her plan of roleplaying. "I'm Dr Janice Whitfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital." She lied to the young woman, "We have a Karen Walker here."

" _My Karen?"_ Amanda's worried voice came through with a hint of confusion.

"Nothing serious." Katherine assured her, "Just a minor car accident, but she was injured, so-" She was about to continue but Amanda stopped her.

" _-Wait, wait."_ The blonde's voice riddled with suspicion and a lack of understanding. _"But, that's impossible."_ She insisted, _"I just got off the phone with her just a couple of minutes ago."_

Kathy blinked, completely stunned and stumped at the same time. She did not expect that. "Huh?" She murmured dumbly. Her mind trying to wrap around another way to get this woman to forgo this flight without any troubles. Sam looked at her with interest, must be realizing what Amanda much have said to make his sister look like that.

" _Five minutes ago."_ Karen continued. " _She's at her house cramming for a final. Who is this?"_ Not understanding who this woman was.

Katherine's mind went blank; she couldn't figure a way out that would get her out of this pickle. "Well, uh… okay, I must be talking to the wrong person."

" _And how would you even know I was here?"_ A pregnant pause filled the line before Karen's voice turned annoyed and exasperated. " _Is this you Jacey?"_

Kathy let out a breath before trying to make her voice sound apologetic, "Yeah, it's me." Now trying to figure out who this 'Jacey' was.

" _Wow, this is unbelievable."_ She scoffed, " _Why do you always butt in for Vince, that dumbass brother of yours?"_

Vince. He must be this 'Jacey's' brother. She could work with that. "He's really sorry, Amanda." Connecting the two together – this Vince might have been a boyfriend of some sort judging by the tone Amanda seemed to be using.

" _You tell him to mind his own business and stay out of my life, okay?"_ Karen countered.

"Okay," Katherine started, but her words were quick. She didn't want this woman to hang up; not before she trying to get her off the flight rotation in about an hour. "But, he really needs to see you. So…" She left her words hanging. Imagining Karen sighing in the phone, reluctantly agreeing to go visit Vince instead of catching her flight.

But it didn't happen. " _No, I'm sorry."_ Karen responded, " _It's too late."_

"Don't be like that." Kathy insisted, she could feel the losing fight on her part. Karen was one stubborn woman – took one to know one. "I mean, come on. The guy's a mess; he's beginning to be a sad excuse for a brother. It's pathetic really." You could tell Sam was getting antsy, he couldn't hear what Karen was saying for Kathy to respond how she was. He could only imagine.

There was another pause. " _Really?"_ Her tone a little disbelieving, but you could tell she sounded, at least, a little pleased at what Vince was apparently doing at this time.

"Oh, yeah." Kathy nodded to herself, turning towards Sam. Finding it slightly annoying that he had been hovering over her shoulder to try and hear everything.

Karen sighed over the line, " _Look, I gotta go."_ She said, " _Tell him to call me when I land."_

Katherine's eyes widen, knowing those choice of words meant the woman was about to hang up. "Amanda, no wait!" But it was too late, the dialing tone appeared, signally the end of the conversation. She pulled the phone away from her ear with a groan, slamming it back onto the hook on the wall just a little too hard with frustration. "Damn it!" She moved away from the phone, noticing someone eyeing it, must be needing to use it as well. Sam kept close, although he could already take a good guess as to what happened. Karen was still going on her flight. "I was so close."

They needed a new plan.

"Alright," Sam started, figuring out a way they might be able to save Karen and everyone else on that flight. Kathy turned to him with a raised eyebrow, knowing that voice because he used it whenever a plan sprung to mind. "Time for plan B … We're getting on that plane." He announced.

Katherine blinked on his last sentence. ' _We're getting on that plane'._ She repeated in her head like Sam was making up a trick, but it wasn't. He was completely serious. "Huh?" Her mouth opened dumbly, hoping she'd heard him wrong. She shook her head, "Wait, hold on a second." There had to be another way. She couldn't go on one of those contraptions, those … planes.

Sam was confused by how she was acting, "Kath-" He was serious, not understanding her reaction to why a plane sounded so bad. He noticed a flicker of fear in her eyes they darted out the large window right across from the building; a plane was stationed there not too far away. She gulped silently. ' _Does my sister have a fear of flying?'_ He wondered curiously, wondering if so, why has she never said anything before to him? But then, they had never really gone near airports or planes during their life-span. "-that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers. And if we're right, that the plane is going to crash." He kept his words down, there were a lot of people around and he didn't want anyone overhearing.

Katherine shifted uncomfortably. _That plane is going to crash._ She didn't like that sentence. "I know." She agreed but her voice heightened a notch.

"Okay, so well get on that plane, find the demon and exorcise it." He glanced over to ticket desk, "Look, I'll get the tickets. You go get whatever will make it past security." Which, unfortunately for them, didn't involve weapons. They would be stopped and searched, then there would be no way of catching the flight and stopping this demon. "Meet me back here in five minutes."

Sam was about to leave but the paleness in his sister face became more evident. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned – she suddenly didn't look too well.

Kathy stayed silent for a moment before slowly shaking her head, "No, not really." She admitted. Panic riddled in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" He questioned. Maybe she'll admit what he's been assuming in his head.

She shifted in her stance, "Flying is, well … I have a problem with it." It was now or never; Sam will have to know about this stupid fear she's had since a little girl.

"So … you have a fear of flying." He stated the obvious.

Katherine suddenly turned defensive, "It's never been a problem until now." She crossed her arms against her chest, "Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?"

Sam sighed, trying to think of another alternative to the plan. But he could only think of one; and he was sure Katherine would definitely _not_ agree with it. "I'll go then." He said, "I'll do this one on my own."

Suddenly the fear was forgotten. "No fucking way." Her eyes hard, "No way am I letting you do that especially if the plane's likely to crash." Making sure to keep her voice loe.

Sam looked at her desperately, she needed to make a decision then. Face her fear and come with him – or let him go it alone. "Kath, there's only two options. Come with me or I go by myself. There is _no_ third option here."

"Oh, come on." Katherine muttered under her breath to herself, already knowing what she'll have to do. There was no way she was letting Sam go up in that thing alone. Her fear was rising again. After running a shaky hand through her hair she took a deep breath, looking up to Sam who stood there looking antsy. "Alright, you go get the tickets. I'll get anything from the trunk that won't beep on our way through."

…

" _Flight attendants, please crosscheck and prepare for departure."_ The Pilot's voice appeared from the speaker and everyone began to do up and tighten their seat belts. The plane was jam-packed full of people, and Sam's estimate of over a hundred people being on this plane was completely probable. There were a couple of people nervous and a little shifty, because like Kathy, they weren't too fond of flying either. But many people were calm and relaxed, not at all thinking that this plane would somehow go down in flames like the Winchester's theory was.

Sam and Kathy were near the middle of the section, sitting on the left hand side of the plane, near the window. Sam sat closer to the window while Kathy sat right next to the middle run. Sam noticed his sister shifting again, for probably the hundredth time since getting on. She tried to focus her thoughts on the journal in her hands, flicking through to find the best exorcism to remove this demon and send it back to hell.

The plane began revving up it's engines and everyone started shaking from the vibrations of it. "Just try to relax." Sam tried to tell Kathy, but she was too pent up to really listen.

Katherine was definitely _not_ pleased with the situation she was in; and although it was her choice to come on this plane for her brother's sake, it felt horrible that she's having to face a fear she's buried so deep since childhood. She didn't know particularly why she had this fear of flying – maybe it's because she's never actually been on one? But honestly, she'd take a herd of ghosts over this any day. "Just try and shut up." She retorted with a small snap in her voice. She didn't mean to be snappy; but all she could think about were the dozens of scenarios that the next hour could bring. In forty minutes, they could be very well dead.

Sam couldn't help but laugh a little in his seat, finding it amusing that his sister actually had a fear of flying. She's faced the worst of the worst compared to him; and the one thing she really fears – was flying. Something that were a lot safer that cars itself; both studies and experiences have proved that. There are far more car crashes in the world than planes falling to Earth and exploding. And on the bright side – he had a bit of leverage now that he knew this secret of hers. Especially when she knew his … fear. Now he could tease her with this when she teased him about his.

The engines whirled into gear and the plane shook even more; with haste, Katherine closed up the journal and put it into the holder attached the chair in front. You could feel the plane lifting from the ground now, and every time the plane went another thousand feet in the air, you needed to swallow so your ears would pop back to normal. Kathy clutched the arm rests with a tight grip; like holding on for dear life.

…

Ten minutes later; the plane was near it's expected height in the air and people, like the hostesses, were now able to walk around to offer refreshments and snacks. Next to Sam, Katherine's fingers were twitching and fiddling together but still stayed firmly attached to the chair, with her belt still on - unlike Sam. He looked as calm as could be, grinning, like he was actually enjoying his plane ride. Katherine envied his optimism of planes and these damn flights. They were like a heart attack for her.

Katherine started to hum to herself quietly, imagining herself back in the Impala while Sam drove down a highway. Her favourite song started to tune into her hum; it was Metallica. Her eyes were closed, in her own little world and luckily she was starting to calm down. But Sam ruined this, "Are you humming Metallica?" He questioned, a little confused. He was sure that was the thing she was humming; but he was curious.

Kathy gritted her teeth in annoyance, feeling her little fantasy fly away and the fear of being on a flying airplane came rushing back. "It _was_ calming myself down, Samuel."

Sam sighed, not reacting to the name she used for him. He could tell she was nervous; and honestly when you look at it, her fear was worse than his by a mile. It felt weird seeing her like this though; she was always the confident one, the calmest in pretty much all situations. Lets just say; this was a different picture to how he would have imagined on the subject. "Look, man." He sighed, keeping his voice down so other passengers didn't hear. "I get that your nervous, all right?" He said in an understanding yet comforting manner, "But you have to say focused."

Katherine looked over to him before swallowing her fear in; like it would just instantly go away. "Okay." She nodded a little, getting what he was saying. She really did need to stay focused, because if she didn't, all these people – including them, will be dead in no time.

"We've got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing anyway. And we've got to perform a full-on exorcism."

Kathy scoffed, "On a crowded plane … that'll be easy." She said, sarcastically.

"Just take it one step at a time, all right?" Looks like it's up to Sam to be the complete level-headed one today. "Now, who is it possessing?" He asked himself, but also his sister. Wondering what candidates, they should check out first. Sam looked to Kathy; knowing she's had more experience when it comes to demon possessions. She'll always have more experience in the hunting sector compared to him.

Katherine took a deep breath, taking her mind away from the moving plane she was currently in. "Well," She glanced over to her brother, "It's usually gonna be someone with a weakness or chink in the armor that a demon can worm through. Someone with an addition is also probable, or even someone with some sort of emotional distress."

Sam thought on that; the only person they really knew was Amanda. The woman they had tried to stop coming on the plane – the reason why they were actually on here in the first place. "This is Amanda's first flight back after the crash – wouldn't she be the best person to try and possess."

Kathy nodded, "Yeah." She agreed, "I would be a little freaked out to be back on a plane if I were her." The plane shook and she groaned, "But then I'd never want to be a flight attendant anyway. I'd be messed up before and after." Suddenly, she noticed a blonde woman passing through beside her, asking if anyone wanted a refreshment. All Katherine could really remember about Amanda Walker was that she was blonde – maybe this was her?

"Excuse me." Katherine called lowly over to the woman, getting her to turn around. The blonde woman held a joyful smile on her face as she turned, bending down to see what the Kathy wanted. "Are you Amanda?" Katherine got straight to the point.

The woman shook her head, a smile still evident on her face but was a little confused by the particular question. "No, I'm not."

Katherine gave her a smile back, looking apologetic for taking up her time, "Sorry, my mistake." The blonde woman just gave a small nod and continued down her path to ask other passengers if they wanted anything. With a sigh, she glanced around to see if there were any other blonde women walking around. But she couldn't see any – but, looking behind towards the back of the plane. Another blonde woman appeared putting some bottle of drinks away into a cooler. ' _That must be her'._ Katherine thought to herself.

She turned back round to Sam, "That woman back there has to be Amanda – there's no other blonde women on this plane; staff-wise that is. I'll go talk to her and get a read on her metal state."

"Okay." Sam nodded, thinking it's a good idea. Amanda may be the best person for the demon to get a hold of, but it didn't mean she was actually the one carrying it. The woman could just be completely fine for all they knew. "But what if she's already possessed?" He questioned.

Kathy quirked a grin, "There's always ways to test if so. I brought holy water with me but that'll probably be a bad thing to use right now. There's also a word, the subtle approach."

Sam remembered what she was talking about. "She'll flinch at the name of God."

Katherine patted Sam on the shoulder, "Good job, Sammy." With a small sigh, she finally unhinged herself from the seat, unclicking the seatbelt before getting up. She made her way towards the back of the plane but groaned with annoyance when another shudder made the plane topple her slightly.

" _Ladies and Gentleman. This is your first officer speaking…"_ The man's voice over the speaker continued just as Katherine reached the small room at the back; Amanda was still filling her small cart of refreshments, obviously about to go out and offer them to the passengers. Amanda looked up as she entered, looking a little confused but still kept a smile on her face when Katherine said, "Hi."

"Can I help you with something?" Amanda wondered, placing a cup of ice on her cart.

"Oh, no." Katherine waved her off a little, just feeling and looking uncomfortable about walking around a plane – one that would soon fall to Earth if she and her brother didn't figure out how to get rid of this demon, and fast. "I'm just an uneasy flier. I feel better when I walk around a bit." She stretched out the truth.

Amanda listened and nodded, "Oh, it happens to the best of us." She reassured. Even she felt a little nervous to be back after her incident. But she was fine – there was no way she was going to give up her career because of a little flying fear. Plane crashes are a rare thing anyway; one of the things she kept repeating in her head to calm her inner self down.

Katherine chuckled a little, "Right, of course." She started, "Being stewardess and all; flying must be a pretty easy thing for you."

"Yeah, you'd be surprised." The woman replied, now piling up a load of plastic cups onto the cart. Happy to be having a conversation with someone other than thinking about everything in her mind.

Katherine pretended to be surprised, seeing a confident face but she could sense the lining of nervousness in her voice. "Really? You're a nervous flier?"

Amanda gave a small shrug but kept a smile. "Yeah, maybe a little."

The brunette fiend confusion, "How is it that being a stewardess, you're scared to fly?" Looking interested in what the answer will be.

"It's … kind of a long story." The blonde replied, folding napkins now.

Looking apologetic for butting into her life - Kathy gave her the look before replaying, "I'm sorry for asking."

Amanda shook her head, waving the apology away, "It's fine." She said, it wasn't a terrible bother anyway.

"Have you ever considered other employment?" Katherine asked, curiously. She slipped her hands into her pockets – strangely forgetting that they were on a plane at that moment.

She hadn't really thought about it. Amanda could never see herself doing another job; or switching to another career. She loved to fly other than the incident that happened not too long ago – but most of all, she loved to travel to all the different places of the world. "No," She shook her head, "Everybody's afraid of something. I just, uh … I'm not gonna let it hold me back."

"Huh." Was the only thing Katherine could say? Either this woman was indeed holding a demon inside of her; or Amanda really was a strong person. And if Amanda's no demon; she had to admire her, not many could face something like being in a plane crash and then carrying on flying on them like it never happened. It was a good quality to have. Clearing her throat, she knew it was time to see if Amanda was indeed the demon. "Christo." She muttered, trying to act cool about it. But she kept her eye on Amanda's.

Amanda looked towards her, confused. Christo? What did that mean? Did she hear right?

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" She asked, wondering to herself if she had heard right.

Katherine didn't notice any flinching or flickering in the woman's eyes or body. Her eyes didn't change nor did she flinch at the name of God. "Sorry," She apologised, "This plane ride must really be getting to me. For some reason I just said _Christo_. Means nothing at all." During the point where she mentioned 'Christo' again just for good measure, she looked closely at Amanda once again. But only got the same affect as last time.

Amanda was clearly not the demon they were looking for – she was far too okay with being back to work for the demon to even wedge inside of her. She would have been too easy of a target anyway; maybe that why Amanda wasn't picked out of the bunch.

Katherine nodded towards the seats, "I better get back to my seat; sorry for bothering you again." With that, she left Amanda to herself. She headed back towards Sam and when she got back to the seat, thankfully with no further plane turbulence, he was reading through the journal like she had done before.

Sam noticed his sister return and his eyes went to her with interest, wondering what had happened.

Kathy turned to him, "That woman has got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet." She said with a small scoff. Feeling a little annoyed that they hadn't found the demon yet; it would have been very good luck if the demon had been in Amanda. But when have they ever really had good luck in their line of business?

"You said 'Christo'?" Sam asked, just to be sure.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"And?" He prodded.

"No demon in her." Katherine said with a shake to her head, "And I doubt any will get into her." She began to put her seatbelt on again, liking the seat a lot more than standing. She wanted this case done and over with – she was never getting on another plane as long as she lived after this day.

"So, if it's on the plane – it could be anyone, anywhere."

Suddenly the plane shook, even harder than the previous times. Katherine was clutching the arms rests again with even more force, her anxiety heightening. "Oh, come on." She breathed a little abnormally, "This can't be normal." She HATED flying.

Sam turned to her, seeing the panic slipping back onto her face. "Hey, hey." He tried to be comforting, but also reassuring. He didn't want his sister to become possessed by the demon – her fear of flying was the hole the demon would take advantage of in order to get a hold of her. "It's just turbulence. It's perfectly normal." He used the voice that Katherine would use for a child.

"Sam." Kathy had gritted teeth; the plane was still shaking but a little less than before. "I'm not a child - so shut it."

Sam didn't care, he needed her to calm down for both their sakes. "Calm down."

"Well, I can't Sam!" She snapped with a low voice, not wanting to be horrible but it was the truth. Her fear was worse than his – every time the plane hit turbulence, she found it hard to breath and all she could imagine was the plane falling out of the sky. "And the touchy-feely emotions crap isn't going to work on me." As she continued, the panic in her voice was becoming more evident to Sam. He needed to calm her down so they could get to work without worrying that she'll get possessed.

"Kath, if you're panicked, you're completely open to possession." He tried, wanting her to understand how important it was for her to calm down. "So, you _need_ to calm yourself down, right now."

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. So, as she took a deep breath, she tried to lower her blood pressure, trying her complete hardest to calm down. Her brother needed her right now and they only had about 25 minutes left until this plane went down – they needed to fix this, to save all these people before it's too late. She slowly let out the breath she took in; she could, surprisingly, already feel herself becoming calmer.

"Good." Sam nodded with approval, looking relieved. Seeing that she was calming down now - he took both their focuses back to their dad's journal. He flipped to the page he had previously been on, showing it over to his sister, "Now, I found the exorcism I think is gonna work. The ' _Rituale Romanun'_ "

Katherine's eyebrows creased, hearing that exorcism before but she's never taken the time to really get to know about it. "What do we have to do?" She asked, feeling a lot better after being scolded by her _younger_ brother.

"It's in two parts." Sam began to explain, "The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually causes it to become more powerful."

Kathy felt like she hadn't heard right, "More powerful?" She questioned. Why would anyone do an exorcism that makes the demon more powerful?

"Yeah." He nodded back, turning the journal's page.

"How?"

Sam knew his sister wouldn't like this very much; this exorcism was going to make their job getting rid of this demon ten times harder. "Well, uh, it doesn't exactly need to possess someone to wreak havoc. It can just do it on it's own, without a physical binding."

Katherine made a little scoff, "And why the hell would that be a good thing?"

"It's mostly because of the second part." He stated. "The exorcism sends the bastard straight back to hell once and for all."

We'll, she liked the second part more than the first – but they needed an actual demon to send back. With a sigh, she ran a hand through her loosed hair-bun. "Alright, first things first – we have to find it." She said with determination. They were going to find this thing and kick it back to where it belonged. The quicker they find the bastard – the quicker they'll get back onto solid ground where she liked it.

…

Katherine walked slowly down one of the plane aisles with the EMF meter in her hand and the earplugs in her ears. She slowly moved the handmade device side-to-side, frisking it casually around all the passengers, trying not to look like a crazy person. She hoped to look like someone's who's possibly swaying to some music playing in their ears.

As she made it to the end of the aisle; not even a blip had shown up on the EMF. Where could this demon be?

Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder, making her jolt with surprise and a little fright. Turning around, she saw Sam standing there. She sighed with relief, but also an annoyance for how he had made her jump. "Geez, man." She muttered, ripping out one of the earplugs closer to him. "Don't do that."

"Sorry," He had the decency to apologize, but then got right down to business. "So, anything?"

Katherine shook her head, sighing, "No, zilch." She replied, "How much time have we got left?" She asked the horrible question. They were on a deadline.

"Fifteen minutes." Sam took a quick peak at his watch before looking back to his sister, "We must have missed somebody." He summarized, but even then he was sure they had checked out everyone by now.

Katherine couldn't think of anyone else either, "Maybe it's just not on the plane?" She hoped; but knew they couldn't rely on that because if they were wrong – they were dead. But even then too, she believed the demon was on here.

As if he had read her thoughts, Sam raised an eyebrow towards her. "And you believe that?" Because he didn't – and by the look on his sister's face, she was thinking the exact same thing.

Kathy sent him an unsure shrug, "I will if you will." Just then, a prickled noise suddenly sounded in the remaining earbud in her ear. She frowned, looking down at the device as a whirling sound also came through. The EMF was picking something up – a demon's presence. The EMF was pointing towards the Pilot's area; and just as she looked up, a man in his early forties walked out of a side room.

Sam's eyebrows creased when he saw a look form on his sister's face; she was staring over to the side. He hadn't even seen the EMF meter raging, especially since he couldn't actually hear it, unlike Kathy. "What?" He questioned, confused. "What is it?"

Katherine ignored him, her eyes narrowing towards the man that had just entered. Just before he went into the room connected to the front of the plane where all the flight controls were, she said, "Christo." Her voice was just loud enough for the man to hear. And instantly after saying it; the man flinched at the word – his head twisting around to her, and his eyes flashed black. By this time Sam had turned to look towards what she had been watching and both their eyes widened in union; they had found the demon they had been looking for. He was possessing one of the Co-Pilot's.

As if the man had never heard her; he turned back around and disappeared into the next room. They needed to do something – and fast before things got out of control.

…

Both siblings were heading back up the aisle towards the back of the plane seconds after finding out the identity of the demon. Sam was taking the lead; but they were heading over to speak with Amanda. Only she could help them get the Co-Pilot to come and secretly meet them without a fuss. They couldn't risk making a scene on the plane either – this needed to be kept hidden and secret before a mass panic occurred.

"She's not going to believe this." Sam stated, glancing behind him to his sister.

Katherine didn't have much hope of her believing anyway, but she was the best shot they have and they didn't have much time left on the clock. "Dude, we have twelve minutes left. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

They entered the back room where Katherine had last spoken to Amanda, and lucky for them, she was there filling up another cart. Amanda turned around after hearing someone enter, and smiled when she saw Katherine there. "Oh, hi." She didn't know the man next to her though but she was confused as to why they had come back here. She had noticed them moving around the plane a lot over the past ten to twenty minutes or so. Both of them must have an uneasy feeling about flying then. "The flights not too bumpy for you, I hope." She said towards Katherine.

"Uh, that's kind of what we need to talk to you about." Katherine started, just as Sam shut the blue curtains to the room – blocking everyone's view to their conversation.

"Um, okay," Amanda couldn't help but look and feel confused by the choice of wordings and the way the two were acting. "What can I do for you?" Acting a little hesitant

Kathy glanced back to her brother before turning back, "Alright – this is gonna sound nuts … but we really don't have time for the whole 'truth is out there' speech-" Sam nudged her, interrupting.

"-Look, we know you were on flight 2485." Sam said and straight away, Amanda's features turned between curious and defensive.

"Who are you two?" She questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sam ignored her question; this wasn't the time. They could introduce themselves after saving everyone from an explosive death. "Look, we spoke to the other survivors and we know something brought down the plane – and it wasn't a mechanical failure."

Katherine jumped in this time, "And we need your help to stop it from happening again, here, now."

Amanda started to become flustered, not understanding everything they were saying. Everything for her was starting to jumble up – who were these people? She wanted to get away from them, "I'm sorry," She shook her head, starting to move away from them – hoping to go back towards the passenger's area, but Katherine blocked her. "I'm very busy, I have to go-"

"Just wait a second." Katherine pleaded, they were running out of time. She tried to give her best reassuring look towards the woman; getting her hyped up and worried wasn't the best idea in the world. "We're not going to hurt you, okay?" She promised, "Just listen."

"The Pilot from 2485, Chuck Lambert. He's dead."

"Wait, what?" Amanda gasped in shock, "Chuck's dead?" She started to breathe heavier; this couldn't be happening. They had to be lying to her – she didn't even know these two! They could be spouting out lies for all she knew.

"He died in a plane crash." Kathy continued, her words a little rushed. "That's two plane crashes in two months. Doesn't that strike you as strange?"

"I-I-" Amanda had no words to say; she didn't know how to respond.

Sam stepped in this time, "Something was wrong with 2485." He started, hoping to get something useful out of her – something that will make her believe and trust them. "Maybe you sensed it … maybe not. But there's something wrong with this flight too."

"Amanda you have to believe us." Katherine begged, hoping in her head that this woman would trust them enough to understand what they were saying. That Co-Pilot could do a lot of damage in that room back towards the front of the plane; it could easily take them down before the forty minutes is up. It's not likely, though, due to past plane crashes on it's hit list; but anything and everything can change its mind at some point or another.

Amanda began staring into both their eyes for the first time, and she couldn't help but notice the seriousness and truthfulness to them. They weren't lying; they were actually telling her the truth. She couldn't believe it, but … there was something. Something she had indeed noticed but had long forgotten back on her last flight. How could she have forgotten?

"On…" She started, bringing a hand up to her face, rubbing her eyes for a moment as she tried to recall back the memory. "On 2485, there was a man. He had these eyes … these black eyes..." Katherine and Sam shared a look, this is exactly what could bring Amanda onto their side.

"That's it." Sam nodded, "That's what we're talking about."

"I still don't understand what you want." Amanda exclaimed, looking conflicted about everything that was happening. What did a strange man with black eyes have to do with anything? And what were these two people going to ask of her?

Katherine gave her a serious look, "We need you to bring the Co-Pilot back here."

What did any of this have to do with the plane's Co-Pilot? "What does he have to do with anything?" She spoke out her thoughts.

The siblings looked exasperated for a moment. "We don't have time to explain." Katherine sighed, "We just need to talk to him."

Amanda looked hesitant, but she didn't even know what to do. "How am I supposed to get the Co-Pilot-?" Sam cut her off.

"-Do whatever it takes." He said, "Tell him somethings broken. Whatever will get him back out here." He knew Amanda would be risking her job, and obviously she knew that too.

"I could lose my job if-"

"-But you'll lose a lot more if you don't." Kathy stopped her talking this time. Dying was positively worse than losing a job – unless your completely depressed and really don't care about life.

There was a moment where Amanda just looked between them; to check just once more to see if this was a real situation or not. And judging by how they were looking, and how they were acting – it was clear that she really had no choice in the matter. It must be pretty important, as to why, she still wasn't completely sure. "Okay." She finally gave in with a small voice, giving each sibling a small nod with her head. She walked past them, this time Katherine wasn't blocking her way through.

Both Sam and Katherine peaked through the blue curtain as the blonde made her way down the aisle towards the front of the plane, knocking on the door. Amanda glanced back at them but the door opened so she turned back, the Co-Pilot they needed had answered the door and was now talking to Amanda. Katherine brought herself and Sam away from the peaking hole, not wanting the Co-Pilot to see them hiding, waiting for him to arrive. Something bad could happen if that occurred.

After checking once more a couple of seconds later – Amanda was now walking back towards them with the Co-Pilot in tow.

Katherine reached into her jacket and passed the journal to her brother, also bringing out the bottle of holy water that was only half-filled. Sam began to flick through the pages, trying to find the exorcism he found earlier. Katherine passed over the bottle of holy water too; knowing she'll have to be the one to take the man down.

Right then, the Co-Pilot and Amanda brushed through the blue curtains. "Now, what's the problem?" The man began to ask Amanda, but before anything else could be said a punch from Katherine landed him falling to the ground with a thud. She took the moment of his confusion to pick him back up and throw him back to the ground, roughing him up. Amanda was watching with widened eyes as a gasp fell through her lips, a little scared because all they said they were going to do was just 'talk'.

Katherine took the Co-Pilot's moment of weakness and sat her weight on him, duct taping his mouth and tying together his hands in front with even more of the tape.

Amanda finally spoke out, her words filled with an underline of panic, "You said you were just gonna talk to him." Her words being said towards Katherine.

"We are gonna talk to him." Katherine stated over the Co-Pilot's movements and groaning's. He was trying to struggle out of his binds. Sam began pouring the holy water on the chest of the co-pilot, and he started screaming with agony underneath the tape. Amanda gasped in horror with a hand raising to her mouth when she saw the burning holes appear in his chest; she didn't know what she was witnessing, but it sure wasn't natural. Steam began to pour out of the wounds and the burning continued. The demon itself started appearing from the man; demonic sounds started radiating from his mouth and he struggled even harder, even with Katherine still sitting on him, trying to keep the duct tape around his wrists.

This son-of-a-bitch was strong.

"Oh, my god." Amanda had to take a step back. What was happening? "What's wrong with him?"

Sam turned to her, pausing in what he was doing. "We need you calm, outside the curtain." He told her. He could see her starting to panic, "Don't let anyone in, okay? Can you do that?" She shouldn't be in here – witnessing what they were doing to the man, well, demon. She said nothing, just looking muddled. "Amanda."

"Okay." She finally said, nodding frantically knowing she shouldn't be in here. She didn't know what they were doing; and on some level, she didn't want to know. "Okay." And with that, she rushed out of the room through the curtains. Determined not to let anyone in to see what she had to witness.

Katherine grunted, punching the man again. He was starting to move around too much for anyone to hold down. Especially on their own. She was stronger than the average man because of the work she did everyday – but this was getting tough. "You need to hurry up, Sam." She exclaimed, "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold him."

Sam threw more holy water over the demon's chest, making it rise in agony. He started the exorcism. "Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino—" Suddenly one of the demon's arm cut lose and punched the holy water away from Sam; then he went for Katherine, pushing her away violently with his now two free arms. He then pushed Sam away too, throwing him into a wall, his head hitting the wall with a nasty smack.

Katherine recovered quickly, rushing back over to grab the demon's arms again to stop him moving. But it was even harder now without the tape holding them together. Sam started to continue again after recovering himself, but the demon started to fight again. Katherine was thrown away once again, this time hitting the wall much like Sam had done.

The demon suddenly ripped off the tape from his mouth, grabbing a hold of Sam's jacket before pulling his down. His voice was full of malice, "I know what happened to your girlfriend." The demon smirked as Katherine got her bearings back together, "She must have died screaming. Even now, she's burning." He snarled. Sam just stared at him with hate; but he couldn't help but let the words of the demon get to him.

Katherine ripped the demon away from her brother, slamming him down to the ground. She slammed her fist into his face, getting him to shut up – she was able to gain control of the demon's hands again, "Sam!" She yelled, needing him to snap out of the funk he seemed to be in. Now was not the time to freeze up, even after what the thing had just said.

Sam startled himself back into the situation, a feeling brewing in his system where he would happily see this demon go back to hell – he began to read the Latin translation again, they were almost done with the first stage.

The demon kept bucking with roars of pain underneath Kathy, steam continuously coming out of his body at a rapid pace. As the last word of the exorcism was said, Sam threw down the book. "I got him." He told his sister, grabbing one of the man's arms as the demon literally started leaking out of the man – a stream of black mist finally came out of his mouth, traveling upwards towards the vent near the ceiling.

Before that happened; the demon had kicked the journal down the aisle outside the curtains, now probably hiding under several chairs.

The black smoke disappeared into the plane and the innocent bystander passed out on the floor from the exertion.

"Where'd he go?" Sam wondered, confused. What could be in the vent?

Katherine already knew the answer. "Into the plane." They had a job to do; to save all these people from the demon they've just let loose into the mode of transportation. She turned to her brother who wasn't looking at the vent like she had done, he was staring at her. "We need to finish this." She said after a moment, patting Sam on the shoulder. This was able to get his head back into gear and out of the words the demon had told him again, "Hurry up." They had to find the journal; it was kicked down the aisle, but it could have been moved further away knowing their luck.

Suddenly, the whole plane dived downwards and people screamed in terror. There was a storm brewing outside, lightning bolts spiking between the clouds. Sam got thrown forwards down the aisle while Katherine was slammed backwards into the exit door; an object in which the demon was able to open on the last plane. The plane kept going; the demon had no intention of stopping itself. If Sam and Katherine didn't evict this demon from this plane right now, they were dead in less than five minutes when this bird crashes to the ground.

Sam was crawling down the aisle; the book kept sliding down away inch by inch because of the planes swan dive. Katherine tried to go out there to help after regaining her balance; but was again thrown back into the wall with so much force her head banged harshly again the metal material. She didn't try and move again; now feeling her fear of planes come back in full force. _They were crashing_ _!_ Her breathing started getting harder to control; she prayed that her brother could save them. Because she already knew there was no chance in hell of her being able to move away from her place in the back room.

Sam had finally grabbed the journal and immediately began chanting like before; but this time, he was just speaking into the air. The words were in Latin; like most exorcisms and such. The plane picked up speed, the nose of the plane nearly tilted straight downwards. It was like it knew what Sam was trying to do – it wanted to kill everyone before Sam got the chance to finish.

As Sam finished the exorcism enchantment; a large lightning bolt stuck the plane. Waves of electricity bounced around everyone – but not touching skin, making them scream harder – but to Sam and Katherine, they knew this bolt was killing the demon and sending it back to hell.

And then everything went back to normal and the plane began stabilizing in the air again. Everyone started to take relieved breaths; all thankful for being alive, thinking it was the Pilot's doing for saving them just in time.

Katherine was finally able to get her bearings back together, taking a moment to herself to calm down. This is why she _hated_ planes – she swore she'll never get back on another one as long as she lives after this flight. She slowly got up from the floor, feeling a dulled pain against the back of her head. As she rubbed it a little, she retreated from the room past the blue curtains to see her brother standing there, looking around. He did it; and she was so proud of him. But then, really, she was always proud of him, whether he knew it or not.

Sam glanced back to her when he realized she had made a move; they both shared a look. One that agreed that this was a job well done; but there was also an understanding between them. But Sam, however, started to think back to what the demon said and his heart constricted with pain.

…

As soon as the plane landed at an airport; _everyone_ was there - down from fireman to Police – they were all there, including some of the higher up government organizations, including the FBI. People were streaming out of the exit gate from the plane, all more than happy to get out of there after what had just happened about an hour ago.

People were beginning to be questioned, especially the Co-Pilot since he was the only one who was technically physically hurt – but no one can understand why because even the man couldn't remember what had happened to him. All he remembered was blacking out on his way to work – after that, nothing.

Over to the side; Katherine and Sam stood together, watching the survivors – but one in particular, the woman that helped them save everyone. Amanda Walker. The blonde turned her head towards them for a moment, in the middle of chatting with an FBI Agent, "Thank you." She lip-spoke, knowing they could read what she was saying – it was pretty easy to make out.

Katherine gave her a nod while Sam did the same – and with a sigh, she patted her brother on the shoulder, "Let's get out of here." She told him, not wanting to stay here any longer than they have too – especially with the FBI and all these other government officials walking around.

Sam started following her, slipping his hands into his pockets but he was walking numbly – too stuck in his head. Katherine noticed this, she looked at him with concern in her eyes, "You okay?" He hadn't said much after everything was over and she knew why – it had to be what the demon said back there on the plane, it made her want to strangle its neck. But it's back in hell now; he'll get worse punishments than a strangling.

It took a few seconds for Sam to reply, but he stopped in his movements before turning to his sister - stopping her from going anywhere too. "Kath, it-" Everything was starting to bother him now and how the hell did this demon know about his dead-girlfriend?! "-It knew about Jessica." His voice cracking, only slightly.

"Sam," Kath started, knowing she needed to put some comfort back into her little brother – this thing was a demon, it loved to lie – they practically breathe with it. "These things, they read your mind and they lie." Although, she wasn't completely sure about her own words for a fraction of a second. "All right? That's all it was, trust me."

And he did; he trusted his sister with his life. "Yeah." Sam sighed, taking her words in.

"Come on; we gotta get out of here before questions arise." She told him, encouraging him to follow again. There was just one more stop they needed to make before hitting the road again.

…

They were back at the major airport building they had been at before with Jerry; the man in question stood with them just by the Impala, making last minute goodbyes before they parted ways once again.

"Nobody knows what you guy's did, but _I do_." Jerry said, looking extremely grateful and relieved at the same time. The two siblings had stopped a plane full of over a hundred people from dying today – they deserved more than a massive pat on the back for what they accomplished. "A lot of people could have been killed."

Jerry held out his hand towards Sam, "Your dad's gonna be real proud." He commented, letting Sam shake his hand before doing the same with Kathy.

Sam sent him a slight smile, a little tense at the mention of their father, "We'll see you around, Jerry." Not finding the man too bad.

Jerry gave them both a nod before starting to head back into the herd of planes but got turned around again when he heard Katherine calling out to him. "Hey, Jerry!" She called, but continued when he glanced back around to her a little confused. "You know, I meant to ask earlier – but, how did you get my cell number, anyway?" She's barely had this phone for a while now and there's been hardly anyone that's she actually been given the new number over. "I've only had it for like, six months max." Extremely curious.

"Your dad gave it to me." Was an answer neither sibling was expecting – Jerry had seen their father lately?

Sam blinked, realizing what had just been said, "What?"

Katherine was a little shocked too by that answer, but mostly hurt if Jerry had seen their father in person when the man couldn't even pick up a call from her. "When did you talk to him?"

"Oh, I didn't exactly talk to him." Jerry answered, dimming the sibling's hopes around their father. "But I called his number and his voice message said to give you a call." Looking to Katherine. He sent them one last smile, "Thank again, guys." He told them before walking away completely this time – leaving the Winchester's to ponder on what had just been said.

…

"This doesn't make sense, Kath." Sam shook his head in regards to how Jerry got her number, leaning against the bonnet of the Impala with his sister next to him – they were a couple of miles away from where they had been with Jerry, now stationed on a dirty inlet to the side of a road leading out of town. "I've called dad's number like 50 times but it's been out of service."

Katherine was looking down at her phone, plugging in the familiar number that had instantly been imbedded into her head since her father first gave it to her. "I know, I've tried too." She told him before pressing the call button. And much to her surprise, the calling tone came on – the number was no longer disconnected.

" _This is John Winchester,"_ Kath was met with her father's voice – a voicemail, she quickly placed the phone between her and Sam so he could hear too, " _I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my daughter, Katherine – 785-555-0179. She can help."_

Katherine flipped the phone shut when the message ended, starting to actually become annoyed with their father – why was he doing this? Ignoring them? The one thing she was starting despise her father for though if for Sam sake; just looking at him now, you could tell he was angry. He was realizing that their father had started to ignore them.

As to why … neither of them was sure.

But he better have a damn good reason for doing so.

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	14. Bloody Mary - Part 1

**Clothing Code, 'bloody mary – 1'**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Bloody Mary – Part 1**

About a week after the Phantom Traveler case; the Winchester siblings found another possible hunt down in Toledo, Ohio where a man had died from a 'supposed' stroke, but from what they've already found out – it didn't actually sound right.

Katherine let out a sigh, having just parked up the Impala outside the only morgue in town. This was where the man's body was being kept until the actual funeral – there was also to be a service happening at the family's house later on today. So, they would probably have a good chance of heading over there later on to investigate a little deeper.

Just as she put the car into it's parking gear – Sam started to fuss around in his sleep with distress, his body twitching before his lips started to mumble words incoherently. "Sam!" She called her little brother, shaking him a little to try and wake him up. It's a shame, he actually had more sleep than usual and now another nightmare had come to plague him.

Sam's eyes suddenly snapped open and it took a moment for him to realise that he was still in the Impala, his sister next to him in the driver's seat. He panted a little, trying to get rid of yet another nightmare from his consciousness, "I, um, take it I was having a nightmare?" He asked after a moment, but he knew what the answer would be.

"Yeah." Kathy stared at him, concern in her eyes, "Another one."

Sam could hear the concern, but he didn't want her to be worried about him, "At least I got some sleep." Thinking what she had thought only a moment ago.

His sister shook her head sadly, taking the keys out of the ignition, "You know you can talk to me, right?" Looking over to him again, "Trust me, it'll help to talk about whatever you're seeing." Although she hasn't exactly taken on her own advice yet so she couldn't really say whether or not it did actually help.

Sam glanced outside the windows, ignoring her comment. It's not that he didn't think she'd listen or understand what he's been having nightmares about – it's just that he didn't want her to think of him as weak, someone who can't deal with his own problems. She has enough on her shoulders already by how she acts these days. She might not realize it, but he's seen her having nightmares too – not too often anymore, but some nights are worse than others.

"Are we here?" He took note of the plating on the side of the old building behind them. The County Morgue.

 _Redirecting the conversation;_ Katherine noticed this – she's done it many times herself when she didn't want to talk about a certain subject. She used it a couple of times during the case where they met Lucas and Andrea. She didn't expect Sam to always tell her everything on his mind – she just hoped that he'd always know she's welcome to help talk about his troubles whenever he feels ready.

She's the big sister – she'd always be there for him, even through thick and thin.

"Yep." Kathy stated, nodding her head before glancing through the back window towards the building. "Welcome to Toledo, Ohio." Letting the 'nightmare' subject go for the moment.

Sam reached between the middle of the seats, grabbing the newspaper that had actually led them to this town. "So, what do you think really happened to him?" He asked his sister, looking closer at the article circled.

Katherine reached into her jacket, pulling out their father's journal, "That … Sammy." She started, hiding the book underneath a blanket in the back seat, "Is what we are here to find out." She patted him on the shoulder, "Come on, let's go." She told him before climbing out of the Impala – Sam followed her towards the morgue after throwing the newspaper back into the middle.

~ 8 ~

The siblings headed inside, making their way to the place they knew where the body of this Shoemaker man was. 'Morgue 144' was the room they approached and from looking just outside the wall-window, it looked a bit gloomy in the office. But then, isn't a morgue supposed to be gloomy and … death-like?

When they entered the dark room, there was a single bald man sitting behind a desk, flicking through some files. There was another desk beside this man with the nameplate 'Dr. D. Feiklowicz'.

The bald man looked up towards them, just noticing that they entered the room. The two looked very casual, but not too casual – they were supposed to be playing the act of two students coming up to see the body for an assignment. The man looked between them warily – they weren't supposed to be expecting anyone today as far as he knew.

"Hey, man." Katherine smiled politely at the man, noticing the guy's eyes flicker towards her breasts – something of which she didn't like unless it included a bar, a very good looking guy and sex. She refrained from punching the guy in the nose. Her jacket zipper was open, her hands slipped into her pockets but this top did show a bit more cleavage than usual.

The guy blinked after a second, regaining reality by looking back up towards their faces – his cheeks flushing a tint of red. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, uh, we're the med students." Sam explained, glancing to his sister whom nodded with him.

The man frowned, "Sorry?" He hasn't heard anything about med students coming to visit and to be quite honest, who'd want to visit them anyway?

Katherine feigned in surprise, blinking innocently, "Oh, you mean Dr. Feiklowicz didn't tell you?" Pointing towards the desk she saw the nameplate on. The man that's missing was obviously the one who ran everything in this morgue. Because, one – he's a doctor, as it says so in his name and this guy in front of them was obviously some kind of assistant. "We talked to him on the phone. We're from Ohio State, you see – it's just that, he's supposed to be showing us the Shoemaker corpse today for an assignment."

The assistant didn't seem to believe them even after ogling at Katherine a little more, "I'm sorry," He started, shrugging a little apologetically, "He's at lunch - should be back soon, though."

Katherine stopped herself from groaning with frustration. "How about _you_ show us the corpse?" She suggested, not actually wanting the boss to come back now after that lie. If this Doctor did come back – their story was blown. "We're in a really big rush and its due tonight in class."

"Sorry, I can't." He apologized again, shaking his head. He didn't have the qualifications to do something like that – even for a pretty lady standing right in front of him. "The Doctor will be back in an hour … tops."

Kathy's nose twitched, she was getting annoyed – and Sam could see this.

Sam grabbed his sister's arm, pulling her over to the side for a second after sending the assistant a smile – he turned to Katherine. "Kath, we'll have to bribe him with that money you won last night." Keeping his voice down so that the man couldn't hear their conversation.

Katherine just sent him a cocked eyebrow, not impressed with the idea, "Why the hell should I do that?" She said, "Can't I just, you know, knock him out?" Liking that plan much better – at least he'll get that punch she's been wanting to throw at him for the last minute or two.

Sam sent her the 'bitch-face', "Because knocking him out involves violence and bruises." He answered, "And you know we can't be here when that Doctor comes back, not after we just made that story up."

Kathy narrowed her eyes towards him in annoyance. But unfortunately, she did get where he was coming from – no matter how _less_ fun it was. "Bitch." She grumbled with a huff. Her little brother, always with the 'less-violent' method.

Sam's lip quirked, "Jerk."

Katherine rolled her eyes, shaking her before heading back over to the desk, feeling Sam come up behind her. She looked at the assistant in the eye before reaching into her bra (something of which Sam did not expect, and neither did the man in front of her – his eyes widened) and she pulled out about $500 worth of notes. She took $300 out of the roll before putting the other $200 away. The assistant was in a daze, blinking rapidly. That's probably the most he's seen a woman doing something like that given what he looks like and the fact that he works in a morgue.

"We want to see the Shoemaker corpse … please." Placing the money right in front of him, almost daring him to say 'no'. In the past, before Sam left for college, she would have actually used her 'womanly wiles' with idiots like this … but she didn't do that anymore, it didn't feel right.

The man snapped out of his daze, seeing a lot of money appear in front of him. Ignoring protocols, he nodded immediately, "R-Right, y-yes." Still blinking after watching the beautiful woman pull out money from her bra … just like that. He shot out of his seat, crumbling the money up before stuffing it in his pocket to use later on.

"Follow me." He started walking away from the desk, heading towards the room next door that held the dead bodies, prepared to show these two the body they want to see.

~ 8 ~

"The newspaper said his daughter had found him." Sam started, watching as the assistant rolled on his latex gloves in front of them. He stood next to his sister on the other side of the silver slab where a dead body was lying under a clean white sheet of cloth. "She said his eyes were bleeding."

"More than that." The man scoffed with a smile on his lips, actually looking amused when he pulled back the sheet so the siblings could take a real look at Mr. Shoemaker's body. "They practically liquefied."

Katherine blinked, gazing at where this man's eyes used to be, "Were there any sign of a struggle?" She wondered, still not being able to look away from the eyes. It's like they had just simply exploded in the eye sockets, "Maybe someone had done this to him?"

"Nope." The assistant shook his head, "Besides the daughter, he was all alone."

The eye sockets were still stained with blood (practically dripping still) and Sam had to grimace at the sight, "What's the official cause of death?" He questioned.

"The Doc's not sure." The man admitted, "He's thinking a massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm." Katherine didn't look so sure about those diagnosis's – it sounded way far from the truth. "But something burst up in there, that's for sure."

"What do you mean?"

The assistant leaned forwards towards them, hovering a little over the body – like he was revealing a massive secret, "Intense cerebral bleeding." He grinned, excited about the concept. This was his first real, proper corpse since starting to work in this place – he's a fresh graduate with his first employment. "He had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

"But the eyes." Sam noted, that's the freakier part towards their area of expertise, "What'd cause something like that?"

They watched as the man shrugged, "Capillaries can burst." He wasn't too sure. "You see a lot of bloodshot eyes with a stroke."

"The guy doesn't even have any eyes left," Katherine narrowed her eyes, he seems to liking the death of this man a little too much. It was kind of concerning – like the guy needed to get a life, concerning. "You ever seen eyeballs explode before?"

"Nah," He shook his head, looking a little down, "This is a first for me but then, I'm not the Doctor." Luckily for him, he didn't have to make the diagnosis – he's just the assistant who does what he's told … technically. If that were true, he wouldn't have accepted that money and shown these two the Shoemaker body without the Doctor's express approval.

"Think we can take a look at that police report?" Kathy inquired, tilting her head towards the assistant but she can already imagine what was going to happen. "You know, for our assignment."

As just as expected, the man looked suggestively hesitant, "Yeah, I'm uh, not really supposed to show you that."

Sam nudged his sister, noticing her about to send the guy a glare. Katherine gritted her teeth with irritation, "Fine." She uttered, reaching back into her bra reluctantly to retrieve the last $200 in her possession – well, bang goes that poker money she won fair and square.

~ 8 ~

Katherine and Sam headed down the flight of stairs after having a good look into the police report they had to unfortuanly pay $200 for. Katherine was annoyed with that trip for sure, however, they did get a few important things before the situation got hairy.

"This might not even be one of our cases." Sam suggested, moving aside for a moment as two people in white made their way up the stairs and past them. "It could just be some freak accident … it could happen." Although, he didn't really believe that himself and neither did Kath by the looks of it.

Katherine scoffed, looking towards him with a sceptical look, "How many times in dad's long and varied career has anything ever been a ' _freak accident_ ' or a ' _freak medical anomaly'_ _,_ and NOT been some sign of an awful supernatural death?"

When you put it like that… "Uh, almost never?" Sam couldn't actually remember that ever happening come to think of it.

"Exactly."

Sam sighed with acceptance, "Alright, let's go talk to the daughter."

~ 8 ~

When the siblings entered the house where the victim used to live; there were dozens of people already around, chatting together in groups of no less than three. The two couldn't help but feel a little underdressed since they're basically wearing casual clothing … while everyone else in the house seemed to be wearing semi-formal wear.

Katherine wasn't the one to take incredible notice to it though.

"I think we're a bit underdressed." Katherine couldn't help but comment, though, leaning over towards her brother a little so no one else could hear what she actually said. Each sibling could feel many eyes boring into them, making each a little uncomfortable just a slight.

Sam followed his sister towards the back of the house, needing to find this 'Donna' that had actually found the body, "That's because we are, Kath." He countered, feeling a little awkward. It's like everyone in the house seemed to be criticising them because of _how_ they were dressed, it wasn't a very pleasant feeling.

Katherine saw an older man walking past with a glass of alcohol, "Excuse me," She said, trying to get the man's attention – one of which he did by turning to her with a polite look in his eyes.

"Yes, dear." He greeted.

Kathy gave him a fake smile after he said, 'dear' but made herself ignore it, "We're looking for Donna – do you know where she is?"

"Yes, she's just outside – here, I'll point her out for you. Follow me." He said, using his hand in a gesture to get the siblings to follow him, in which they did.

~ 8 ~

The man had led them outside into the garden where there weren't as many people around, but there were still quite a few. He pointed towards a small group of young girls with an even younger one sitting nearby them, it must be Donna's younger sister. From the description they were able to get, it wasn't exactly hard to pinpoint which one was Donna.

Katherine and Sam broke away from the man, heading towards the group before stopping just beside them - the group (apart from the younger sister) looked up at them, "You must be Donna, right?" Katherine put on her best sorry look, looking towards the girl with short brown hair that flicked outwards in the middle.

Donna didn't seem to know them, but didn't make herself suspicious, "Yeah." She nodded without much emotion, the death of her father still obviously getting to her.

"Hey," Sam took up speaking this time, knowing he had the more sympathetic look to him while his sister usually looked more threatening in most cases. "Uh, we're really sorry."

Donna smiled slightly, grateful, "Thank you."

"I'm Sam." He gestured over to Kath, "This is Katherine … we worked with your dad." Hoping the story wasn't too bad.

But unfortunately, it did cause at least a few alarm bells beneath the girl's skins – Donna's father worked alone as far as they knew. "You did?" Donna questioned, not really believing them but her tone did show a bit of skepticism.

"Yeah," Katherine nodded believingly, "And this whole thing…" Her words drifted off for a moment, "…I mean, a stroke."

The girl with long blonde hair besides Donna saw her friend look down in sadness – she turned to the two newcomers, "Look, I don't think she really wants to talk about it right now." She said with defiance.

"No, no-" Donna waved her off, giving her the blonde a look that said she was grateful – but really, she's okay with the questions. She's gotten used to it over the past couple of days. "I'm okay, really."

"Were there any symptoms?" Katherine inquired, "Dizziness? Migraines?" Her eyes flickered over to the younger girl to the side, her back turned towards the group. It must be Donna's younger sister, Lily.

Donna frowned, shaking her head, never having seen her father have anything like that as far as she knew, "No." ' _Were those the typical stroke symptoms?'_ She idly wondered to herself.

Suddenly, the small girl that had been sitting with the group with her back turned – twisted towards her older sister, "That's because it wasn't a stroke." The young girl insisted, guilt ridden in her eyes.

Donna sighed, "Lily, don't say that." She told her younger sister, having heard this a couple of times already.

Sam was officially interested, "What?"

Donna looked up to the siblings, having to apologise for her sister's wacky behaviour, "I'm sorry, she's just upset."

"No!" Lily exclaimed, insisting the cause of death was wrong. No one would listen to her! "It happened because of me!"

Donna looked back towards her, "Sweetie, it didn't." But her words didn't seem to help nor did it solve any problems.

Katherine decided to take advantage of this, maybe Lily had seen something Donna hadn't? "Lily," She spoke softly, moving towards the younger girl before crouching in front. Sam watched her as she pulled the same act as she did back with Lucas; there was something about kids that he couldn't seem to quite fathom out with her. When he left four years ago for college, she never acted like this before – she left all the touchy-feely emotions crap to him. "Why would you say something like that?"

Lily turned towards her …. maybe someone will actually listen to her this time? "Right before he died … I said it." Looking as though she were about to cry.

"You said what?" Kathy pushed gently, encouraging her to talk unlike her sister did.

Lily swallowed her fear, "Bloody Mary." She admitted, "I said it three times in the bathroom mirror." Katherine's eyebrows raised in surprise, ' _Bloody Mary?_ ' That's odd. "She took his eyes," Lily continued, "That's what she does." Her mind flashing back to that night with her friends – that stupid dare.

Donna was getting a little annoyed by this ridiculous idea, especially with today being their father's service, "That is NOT why dad died." She insisted, "This isn't your fault."

Even though 'Bloody Mary' could have actually been the cause to Mr. Shoemaker's death, Kathy didn't want this little girl to carry the guilt around with her – especially at this age. "I think your sister's right, Lily." She said, getting the younger girl to look back towards her. "Bloody Mary only attacks the people who say the words three times … your dad didn't say them, did he?"

Lily got what she was saying after a moment of thought, "No … I don't think so." Her father never played childish games like that.

Katherine gave her a smile, "Exactly." She said, "Which means it wasn't your fault – none of this is your fault." Thankfully she could see Lily's eyes lighting up like a normal child's should – her work here was done.

~ 8 ~

When they got the chance, both Katherine and Sam were able to slip away from the gathering and head upstairs – intent on finding this bathroom that Mr. Shoemaker had actually died in. They were able to find the bathroom at the end of the hallway, right beside Lily's room – when they opened the door, thick blood stains were still covering the floor tiles. It no longer looked like a nice bathroom that it probably once used to be.

"The Bloody Mary Legend." Sam voiced out, thinking back to what Lily had said. Never has he heard of anything like this before – it was always just a legend to him. He looked over to his sister, "Did either you or dad find any evidence that it was a real thing?"

"No," Kathy shook her head, entering the room – not only had they never found anything that could indicate that the Legend was indeed real. But, she had played it once or twice in her teenage rebel stage … not that anyone actually knew what she did. "Not that I know of anyway." Their father could have found something but just simply not mentioned it.

Sam bent down to the blood, grazing his fingers against one of the stains – and by the looks of it, the assistant was right … there HAD been _a lot_ of blood. "I mean … everywhere else and all over the country, kids would play Bloody Mary and as far as we know, nobody dies from it."

Katherine shrugged, looking into the mirror that Mr. Shoemaker was probably looking at just before he died. "The Legend doesn't have to work everywhere – maybe something triggered it to start occurring here?"

"Or maybe this is the place the Legend began?" Sam suggested, looking a little interest at the concept as he got up from the floor – moving closer to his sister.

Kathy hummed, shaking her head, "No," She said, "If that were true then there would be a lot more bodies by now. I'm sure more than half of the population here have played the game and we've seen this guy dead."

Sam couldn't see a fault in her logic, "True." He nodded, understanding. Then something came to him, "But according to the Legend, it says the person who says-" Katherine opened up the mirror, making it so that he was now looking at himself – making him remember that they've already said the two word twice already. He rolled his eyes, shutting it before continuing – making sure not to say 'Bloody Mary' again. "-the person who says _you know what_ gets it."

Katherine could see where he was coming from, "But here – the father gets it instead of the one who actually said it." She bit her lip, thinking. It may sound wrong, but she was glad that this guy had gotten killed rather than the little girl if the Legend was somehow connected. This case would have been a whole lot worse for her if they had taken it then.

Kathy pursed her lips, tilting her head towards the mirror, "Yeah, that's never happened before as far as I know." Shaking her head, she looked back towards Sam, "But still, the guy died right in front of a mirror … his eyes scratched out. Lily's right, I mean, the Legend states in every form that _you know who_ scratches your eyes out."

Sam nodded, "It's worth checking into."

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway caught their attention. The siblings shared a look, heading out of the room to possibly hide in another but were caught by the girl they met earlier with Donna. The one with long blonde hair that had originally told them that Donna didn't want to talk right now.

"What are you doing up here?" She questioned, looking between the two suspiciously – silently eyeing them and the bathroom.

Katherine gave a shrug, "We just needed to wash our hands before leaving, that's all." Lying.

The blonde didn't believe her, "Who are you?" She demanded – she knew their story was bogus.

"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad." But it didn't work.

The girl narrowed her eyes, observing them deeply because she still didn't believe that line. "He was a day trader or something." She stated, "He worked by himself." Before she could give them a chance to defend themselves, she continued – knowing there was something strange going on with these two. She's never seen them before in her life and she and Donna have been friends since pre-school. "And all those weird questions downstairs?" She cocked an eyebrow, "What was that?"

"So," She looked at Katherine and Sam with a serious, yet daring look. "You tell me what's going on … or I start screaming." She threatened.

"Alright." Sam stopped her, him and Kath sending each other a look – they were gonna have to tell her something along the lines of the truth. "Alright." He sighed, looking over at the girl with a serious façade, "We think something happened to Donna's dad."

The blonde frowned, confused because everyone already knew that. The man died from a deadly stroke! "Yeah, a stroke." She said in an impatient manner.

Katherine raised her eyebrows towards her, "And exploding eyeballs are the typical signs of a stroke?" She put out the question – it made the teenager falter, "No, we think something else happened."

"Like what?"

"Honestly?" Sam observed this teen for a moment, "We're not sure yet." He lied, keeping the 'Bloody Mary' assumption under wraps until research could be done to support it. "But we don't want it to happen to anyone else and that … is the truth."

She looked between the siblings, trying to determine whether or not they really were being truthful, and as far as she could tell … they were.

"So," Katherine broke the thinking pattern, getting down to business. They had a lot of work to do that didn't involve having to explain what really could have happened to an old man, who died in a bathroom. "If your gonna scream … go ahead." They'd just have to make a run for it and jump out of the bathroom window in order to _not_ get caught.

Not that it would help, mind you.

The blonde looked conflicted for a moment, but decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. She had to admit, the way Donna's dad died was a little freaky – and after everything she's actually looked up when it came to strokes. It didn't really seem like the right diagnosis.

"Who are you guys?" She wondered as she gave into their story, it sounds like they've done this type of thing before. "Cops?"

"Something like that." Kathy gave a shrug; it wasn't too far from the truth. They solve mysteries, had the weapons and save people's lives … they just didn't have a badge on their chest to go with the job.

"Tell you what…"Sam got out a small card from his jacket pocket, handing it over the teenager, "…If you can think of anything, either 'you or your friends notice anything strange' or 'out of the ordinary' – call us, we can help."

After Sam gave the card over, he started heading past her and down the hallway – Katherine following behind him with her hands in her jacket pockets. The teenager didn't seem to stop them, only watched as they walked away with some form of bewilderment.

~ 8 ~

After having left the Service, both Winchesters headed towards the nearby library to do their usual research.

Sam pushed through the front door before starting the journey over toward where the computers were supposed to be. He would have used his laptop to do the research back in their Motel room, but it was always better to use the town's databases as there would be a lot more content – stuff that he wouldn't have to hack a system in order to retrieve.

"Alright." Katherine sighed, following him, "Say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town then there has to be some sort of proof, right?" There were only certain things she was smarter than her brother at. This wasn't one of them. "Maybe a local woman who's died a nasty death?"

"Yeah…" Sam didn't really know what to think just yet, "… but a Legend this widespread, it's hard. There probably more than fifty different versions of it and who this woman actually is."

Katherine nodded, "That's true. The first one I ever heard was that Bloody Mary had been a mutilated bride, pretty brutal if you ask me." She glanced over to her brother, "So, what do you think we should look for first, genius?"

"Well, similar to what you said back at the Shoemaker's place but expanded," Thinking back to what Kathy had actually said about having one thing in common between the different versions. "It's always a woman named Mary who dies in front of a mirror. So, we'll have to search local newspapers and public records as far back as they go." He shrugged, "See if we can find a Mary that fits the bill."

Katherine could help but let out a small groan, "Urgh Sam, you're killing me." She moaned … that's going to be _a lot_ of work, especially in a town like this. "This is going to be terribly annoying."

"Nah, it won't be so bad – as long as they have…" Sam didn't seem to think it would be that bad, but that was until he saw that _all_ the computers had the sign, 'Out of Order' written on them. "…Computers." His shoulders slumped, now feeling like his sister was. "Alright, I take it back." He backtracked, "This will be _very_ annoying … and long."

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	15. Bloody Mary - Part 2

**Clothing Code: 'Bloody Mary - 2 (Katherine)'**

 **The link to my Polyvore Profile is no longer on my Fanfic Profile, but my username is. Just search my username through Polyvore to find the clothing sets.**

 **So sorry for the really long wait!**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Bloody Mary – Part 2**

Later on the next day, Katherine was lounging back in the arm chair of the motel room, flicking through a dozen or so books and information they had been able to retrieve from the library yesterday. They were trying to find anyone who's died a similar death to Mr. Shoemaker. As in; looking for a woman with the name Mary, who died in front of a mirror in the area they were currently in and her eyes also needed to be completely scratched out to the bone too.

Katherine was just about to finish looking through the last of her findings when she noticed movement from the bed, coming from her brother. While he was looking through their research as well, he slowly fell asleep and Katherine was glad, he's hardly been getting any these days. He needed as much as he could get and there was no way she was going to wake him up in order for more help. She decided to finish the rest by herself and let him lie there.

Sam suddenly jerked in his sleep, almost mirroring how he did in the car and after a moment, his eyes snapped open with a start. It took him a moment to realize where he was and as soon as he noticed Kathy sitting over to the side _and_ that they were in a motel, he started to calm down again – now cursing himself with guilt after what he had just seen.

"Why'd you let me fall asleep?" Sam mumbled, tiredly rubbing his eyes. It had only been a couple of hours since he fell asleep.

Katherine was still looking down at the information in her hands, not looking up as she leaned her head against the palm of her hand, her elbow resting on the table. "Cause that's what your favorite sister does when she notices how much sleep you really get these days." She replied with a blunt tone.

Sam rolled his eyes, "You're my only sister." Not going into the subject of his lack of sleep.

"Exactly." Kathy nodded with a quirk to her lip. She looked up to her brother, now watching him fully wake up with narrowed eyes, "So, are you going to tell me what your dream was _really_ about?" She stared at him in silence and just by doing this it made his shift uncomfortably on the bed, looking away from her briefly.

Sam cleared his throat, "Lollipops and Candy Canes." He replied with a very obvious lie built in.

Katherine raised an eyebrow at the answer, noticing that he wasn't looking over to her as well – but even his wacky answer was a clear sign that he wasn't going to give up anything about what he's really been dreaming about for the past several months. "Mm-hm." She hummed, nodding her head but clearly showing how much she disliked his answer. "Sure." Trying to ignore the hurt again that he wasn't opening up to her.

Her brother looked over with a sigh, "You find anything?" Instantly noticing the stack of papers and books beside her. He lifted his body up just a bit, his upper half now resting on his elbows but he was still technically lying down.

Kathy let out a breath, frustrated by more than just one thing in particular, "Oh, not much." She admitted, looking over to her pad of notes that contained very little information and a whole bunch of nothing. "Just a whole new level of frustration and finding the new acquired need to bang my head into a wall." She slammed the book cover shut on her lap, "I've looked through _everything_ and all I could find was a few local women who don't have the name Mary but did commit suicide in front of a mirror. Oh! And a giant mirror fell on a dude named Dave."

This time Sam let out a groan, flopping his body backwards again so his head turned upwards to the ceiling. "Maybe we just haven't found it yet?"

That was obvious.

"I've also been searching for any strange deaths in the area that have a similar death to our Shoemaker guy but still there's nothing. As far as I can tell, he's the only person who's died the way he did." She gave a small shrug, not sure, "Maybe what we're dealing with just ain't Mary?"

Suddenly, a cell phone started to go off on the bed – Sam's cell phone. He quickly picked it up before looking at the front screen, wondering who was calling – but all it said was an unknown number. Frowning, he opened his flip phone and brought the device up to his ear. "Hello?"

Katherine's eyebrows quickly creased with a mixture of concern and question when her brother's features shifted too. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, replying back to whomever was on the other line, "Charlie, it's okay, calm down … we'll be there soon." He promised, closing the phone, now looking over to his sister with a foreboding look.

"Someone else died didn't they?" She quickly guessed, realizing that this Charlie girl must have been the teenager from yesterday at the house. Her brother didn't have any of the contacts that she had and all his phone really had was the numbers and addresses of his University mates from Stanford. He's only given out his number to a select few, the most recent being the blonde teenager that threatened to rat them out.

The look was enough but Sam nodded anyway, "Yeah…"

…

Not even ten minutes later; the Winchester siblings found themselves at a nearby park with Charlie, the teenager from the Shoemaker's house. Last night; a terrible thing happened while she had been driving home and the fear she had was now one that haunted her. Jill, one of her best friends, was dead – _after_ saying 'Bloody Mary' three times into her bathroom mirror. Charlie heard her say it so there was no denying it; she was now scared of what could happen or if it would happen to anyone else. But really, she was mourning the loss of her friend who died in a horrific way.

"…and they found her on the bathroom floor." Charlie continued explaining, her eyes blotched red with dried tears. A breath caught in her throat, "And her – her eyes … t-they were _gone_." She looked up to the siblings; Katherine sitting beside her on the park bench and Sam standing in front, looking very empathetic.

"I'm sorry." Sam told her, his usual calming eyes hoping to bring her just a touch of comfort.

Charlie sniffed, a new set of watery tears quickly running down her cheeks, "And she said _it._ " Putting meaning behind her words and the two knew exactly what she meant almost instantly. "I _heard_ her say it." She didn't know what to think – she knew exactly what she had heard over the phone. Jill had said 'Bloody Mary' three times into the bathroom mirror … just like Lily had done just moments before her father's death. "B-But it couldn't be because of that-" She looked between Katherine and Sam with almost a look that wanted them to prove her wrong. But when they said nothing, her lips trembled, "I'm insane, right?"

"No," Katherine shook her head but was feeling sorry for the teenager - telling her what she needed to hear but may not want to know. "You're not insane."

"Oh, god…" Charlie breathed with a crack in her voice, feeling a massive weight on her shoulders, "That makes me feel so much worse."

Sam looked over to his sister for a moment, almost asking silently if they were going to tell this girl the exact truth or not and in return, she nodded to him, knowing that this teenager had to know now. The basics, anyway – not the whole _entire_ thing.

"Look," Sam turned back towards the blonde, using his soft tone again, "We think somethings happening here – something that can't be explained." The teenager looked between them with confusion but she was listening very closely.

"And we're gonna stop it." Katherine told her with dedication, knowing they'd get the job done. This was definitely one of their cases and two people were already dead – she wasn't about to let anyone else be hurt because of whatever's haunting certain parts of this town. They were going to get the bottom of it and do what they do best – hunt and kill the supernatural bastards. "But …" She looked over to Charlie, "We could use your help."

…

Charlie quickly closed the bedroom door behind her the moment she entered her former best friend's room – ashamed that she had to lie to Jill's mom in order to gain access to the room. The Winchester siblings needed to look inside for any signs only they knew that could be a connection. She was still a little unsure about most of this but her gut was telling her the complete opposite – she felt like she could trust them. They didn't act very crazy to her so there must be a whole lot of truth behind this mess – more than she realized.

Jill's room was a typical teen girl's room; it was tidy enough and there was a makeup table that looked well used judging by the stash sitting on top of the counter. The room had probably stayed the exact same as it had been after Jill's death – the mother was obviously still mourning and walking into that room would probably bring up the painful memory all over again. Especially when the on-suite bathroom had a pooled blood stain on the marble floor, just like it had been at the Shoemaker's house.

After checking to make sure Jill's mom hadn't followed her up, she headed over to the window where she knew the siblings would be waiting for her. She rubbed her hands together nervously before unlocking the latch, pushing the sliding window upwards before letting in the two adults that seemed to know what they were doing, the two people who asked for her help in finding out what truly happened to her best friend.

Sam and Katherine had been waiting patiently outside the window for about ten minutes but even then, it was difficult not to be noticed by peeping eyes. Luckily, no one had passed and saw them on the small roof. If someone had – lets just say this day wouldn't have gone as well as they liked and the cops would probably be around her by now. As Jill opened up the window, they quickly began to climb in, not wanting to be out there for any longer than they had to. Sam went in first and as he got his entire body inside the bedroom, he took the navy green duffle bag from his sister, letting her in next.

Sam quickly went over to the bed and placed the duffle bag on it, starting to get everything set up – they were technically on a timeline because if Jill's mother does decide to come up, she'd be seeing two strangers in her daughter's room. "What did you tell Jill's mom?" He questioned Charlie, seeing her standing there - watching them. Katherine had just finished climbing through and was now shutting the window behind her, closing the blinds also for good measure. They needed the room as dark as can be.

Charlie looked guiltily towards the bedroom door, "I just said I needed some personal time with Jill's pictures and things." She replied with a small voice.

Sam nodded, "Okay, that's good." It should give them plenty of time before anyone comes upstairs to check on her.

Charlie shook her head, "God, I hate lying to her." On some level not believing what she had done.

Katherine sighed, coming up from behind to momentarily place a hand on the teenagers back, "Charlie, believe us, it's for the greater good." She assured her. This would be a lot for an adult to take in – let alone a sixteen-year-old girl. She looked around the room before gesturing over to the light switch by the bedroom door, "All right, hit the lights." Charlie moved away from her to do just that, going over to the lights while Katherine moved to stand beside her brother, digging into the duffle bag herself.

The lights were shut off and the only piece of light that could be seen was through the brief shining of the outside world, passing through the darkened curtains.

Charlie moved back over to the siblings, standing herself between them but was really looking over their shoulders. "What are you guys looking for?" She frowned, wondering why Sam was holding a camera and Katherine was holding another device she's never even seen before. It looked homemade whatever it was.

"Well, we're not exactly sure right now." Katherine answered with a glance over her shoulder, fiddling with the E.M.F she had in her hands.

Sam got the video camera turned on, but couldn't seem to figure out how to get one specific thing up ad running, something they needed in order to see things clearly. "Kath," He prompted, getting her to lift her head towards him with question. "How do you get the night vision up and running?" This was a video camera his sister's had for ages and it's the one he's never actually used before.

Katherine reached over before pushing in a particular button, and immediately Sam saw the changes to the screen in front of him. The night vision feature was now turned on. "Thanks." He kept the video camera pointed towards his sister to see how well it worked, and she noticed.

Kathy did a small pose, acting silly with a small grin on her lips, "What? Do I look like Paris Hilton?" She already knew anything about her looked nothing like the woman – far from it actually.

Charlie let out a small snort under her breath, her mood brightening up just a little and Sam did quite the same, shaking his head with a small smile of amusement on his lips. Sam turned away, beginning to look around the room with careful eyes, keeping them peeled towards every part. He was looking for any signs through the camera. Katherine began getting to work too, turning on the E.M.F before walking around the room, listening for any signs of supernatural activity like spirits and ghosts. The machine made little whirling sounds but no beeps of detection.

"So, I don't get it." Sam started to say, talking to his sister in particular while opening the closet door where a mirror was hanging on the inside. He began hovering the camera close to the edges of the mirror, looking intently. "I mean; the first victim didn't summon Mary but the second victim did." He frowned, thinking, "How is she choosing them?"

Katherine was walking around the edges of the room, heading towards the bathroom slowly, "No idea but there's always a pattern." She replied, "We just have to find it." As Sam closed the door, going over to the mirror sitting on top of the dressing table, Kathy turned to the teenager with curiosity leaking into her voice. "Why did Jill say it in the first place?" She questioned. She had an idea as to why – it's probably the same reason as hers when she did it many years ago.

Charlie looked down, "It was just a joke." Remembering back to how Jill tried to scare her over the phone – it's how she knew for sure of what had been said.

Katherine sighed, looking down at the device again, "Yeah, well, somebody's gonna say it again." She said with surety in her voice. It was either going to be a kid playing the game like Lily and her friends were or someone just doing what Jill had done, trying to prove a point. Either way, there were going to be more deaths in Toledo, Ohio if this case wasn't wrapped up quickly. "It's just a matter of who and when." There was still nothing showing up on the E.M.F – if any kind of ghost or spirit had been in this room, she should have detected it by now or at least the remnants of it.

Sam was in the bathroom by now, looking at the edges of the mirror hanging up above the sink. He hadn't found anything, but that was until he reached down to the bottom of the object. Suddenly, a dripping spatter appeared through the camera's lens – it was very clear and bright and something that could only be seen through the machine, a definite sign of something they were looking for. "Kath." He called out to the other room, his eye widened a touch at what he had found.

Katherine turned towards him the moment he faced her, sensing from the tone of his voice that something had been found. She was about to ask what it was until he spoke again before she could even begin.

"There's a black light in the trunk, right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Kathy nodded back, "Why? You found something?" She quickly turned off the E.M.F before throwing it onto the duffle bag, walking towards the window already as she waited for her answer.

Sam nodded, "I think so, yeah." He stated.

…

When Katherine got back from the car, her brother had already placed the bathroom mirror lying face down on Jill's bed. Sam was kneeling at the end of the bed and Charlie was waiting next to him, and to be honest, she was actually finding all of this interesting … but scary. Everything that's happened usually occurs in a movie or TV Show – it freaked her out a little. Especially when it was her best friend that was dead and her other best friend's father. What's happening around her had become very personal to her.

"Here." Kathy threw the black light over to her brother before quickly closing the window back up, shutting the blinds afterward so the room turned dark once again.

Sam caught the device with one hand before promptly ripping open the paper shielding the back of the mirror, wanting to reveal the true backing. That's the part they needed – the area he believed something had been stuck there. Kathy stood there looking above, watching with curious eyes - trying to think of what might be hidden on this mirror that they needed to figure out. What's there could be the next step to where they head next.

Sam turned on the black light and very dimly, a handprint the size of an adult appeared underneath the blue shine. Drifting down further towards the bottom of the mirror, near towards the place he saw the dripping along the wall, words started to appear before them. The three of them had to lean in closer to really tell what the wording said since the writing wasn't all that bold, like black marker would have been to a piece of plain paper.

" _Gary…"_ Charlie began reading them out, her head tilting to the side slightly in order to read what was on the mirror. " _Bryman…_ " Her tone was confused – she had no idea who this person was, let alone how Jill might have known who he was. She couldn't remember anyone in either her or Jill's life with the name 'Gary Bryman' and they've been friends since pre-school.

Sam looked up to her, hopeful, "You know who that it?"

Charlie shook her head in response, glancing between the siblings with a look of apology, "No."

' _A name's better than nothing I suppose – at least we have something to go on._ ' Katherine thought before looking towards the bedroom door, "Alright," She sighed, going over to the duffle bag before throwing the items they used into it. She looked up at the other two, "We should get out of here, there's nothing else we can do but look up the name to see who it is."

…

Soon after leaving Jill's house they decided to split up – Charlie would stay with Katherine at the park they had been at earlier while Sam used his usual nerd ways to find out who 'Gary Bryman' really is. There hadn't been much talking between Katherine and Charlie apart from the occasional information inquest the teenager would make on what it is they really did. It had been about half an hour, but finally, Sam came back with a small slip of paper between his fingers, the answer to their question – answered.

"So, Gary Bryman was an eight-year-old boy." He told the other two, taking a seat on the other side of Charlie at the bench, his sister on the teenager's other side. He glanced down at the slip of paper, gathering their attentions, "Two years ago, he was killed in a hit and run." He sneakily glanced up at his sister's hand when he noticed it clench, he frowned to himself but said nothing, continuing, "The car was described as a black Toyota Camry but nobody got the plates or saw who was driving the car."

"Oh, my god…" Charlie gasped with horror, her mind forming the realization quickly, her heart sinking when part of her didn't want to believe what could possible be. Her reaction caused the siblings to turn to her curiously, wondering why she acted that way towards the news.

"Charlie, what is it?" Katherine questioned, seeing a knowing look form on the teenager's face.

Her head shook but answered anyway, " _Jill_ drove that car."

The female Winchester let out a breath, shaking her head, realizing why Jill might have been a target now, "We need to go check out your friend's Donna's house again – there's probably something written on the back of the mirror Mr. Shoemaker died in front of as well."

…

At Donna's house; Katherine and Sam were alone this time while they were in the bathroom – Charlie was downstairs with Donna talking, doing whatever teenage girls' do. The mirror in the Shoemaker's bathroom hadn't been the same as Jill's where a backing had to be ripped off – all they had to do with this one was unclip the backboard before taking it out. Turning off the lights, they were now looking down at the back of the mirror with the same black light they used with the other one.

Sam slowly drifted the blue shine from top to bottom and just like last time, the handprint had been the first thing to be seen. Next was another name, just as Katherine had suspected.

 _Linda Shoemaker._

"Linda Shoemaker." Sam murmured to himself, sensing a connection to the family immediately. He looked up to his sister and the same thing went through their minds – whoever Linda was, it was highly possible that if this person was dead, Mr. Shoemaker might have had something to do with it. If that's correct – then they've found a potential pattern between the victims.

…

"Why are you asking me all this?" Donna countered back with frustration, but also bewilderment driven in her voice. Katherine and Sam had come down and started asking questions about Linda Shoemaker, her mother, a woman that left them because of an overdose of drugs. It was a painful subject for her and it especially wasn't appreciated so close after her father dying too.

"Look, we're sorry." Sam apologized for both him and sister having to ask these questions. "But its important." Not going into details as to _why_ it's actually important.

Donna's lips formed a straight line, "Yeah." She finally answered their main question, "Linda's my mom, okay?" She looked at the two with narrowed eyes, not feeling very hospitable anymore, "She overdosed on sleeping pills. It was an _accident_ and that's it." Putting emphasis on the certain word. The memory of her mother flashing before her eyes was becoming too painful, "I think you should leave."

"Donna, just listen-" Katherine was cut off by Donna's yell.

"-Just get out of my house!" The emotional teenager pushed passed them, heading out of the room with large strides, wanting to get away from them and their divulging questions.

When Donna disappeared from sight; Charlie shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest with a horrifying thought bouncing around in her head. "Oh, my god." She breathed, thinking what Donna said through. She turned towards the siblings who both held a look that showed that what she was thinking, could very well be true, "Do you really think her dad could have killed her mom?"

Sam nodded in response for what both he and his sister were both thinking, it was something they quickly talked about as an idea up in the bathroom before coming down. "Maybe."

There was a moment of silence before Charlie looked towards the direction Donna had gone – she knew bringing these two here might strain the friendship a little, and now she needed to repair a couple of cracks because of what she had done. "I should stay here." She announced to the other two, expecting them to not need her again. She hoped they find who or what was doing this to people and fast – she now wanted to forget about anything to do with this Bloody Mary situation and get back on with her life. She still hadn't had a chance to fully mourn Jill's death, and all she's been doing so far was keeping the thoughts blocked out of her mind for now.

"Good idea." Katherine nodded, glancing over to the way Donna had gone before turning back. She didn't want Charlie getting mixed up in all of the hunting business – she's still just a kid. "But, whatever you do, don't-" She was about to caution the girl but Charlie beat her to it, already knowing what was about to be said.

"-Believe me." Charlie started with a hard but definite voice. Her eyes held truth and determination to them, "I _won't_ say it." She didn't want to die, let alone get someone else around her killed.

…

"Wait, wait, wait." Sam said, turning around from the wall of paper he finished putting up. Each piece held something that could be pertinent to their investigation into whatever was playing the role of Bloody Mary. They had gone straight back to the motel after leaving Donna's house to try and figure out where they needed to go next and Katherine was already checking through an idea that popped into her head a while ago. He looked at his sister with a stare, "You're doing a _nationwide_ search?"

"Yup." She nodded, finishing printing out the case file she literally just found that perfectly matches what they were looking for. With Sam's help; she was actually browsing through every government network she could get her hands on – and that was something very illegal - not that they're new to that type a thing. "I've snuck into every database we can get our hands on. The FBI and the CNIC being the main two."

Sam went over to sit at the edge of the bed, looking over at the computer in front of her, "Have you found anything?" This wasn't the first time they've browsed through top secret government files that no public access was allowed.

"I have actually," Katherine replied, reaching over to the mini-portable printer they take with them everywhere before handing over the file she printed out. "After finding zilch in Toledo, I branched out _completely_ – and by completely, I mean the _entire_ country."

Sam took the photos and documents from her hand, looking down at them with interest. But there was something he didn't get, though, "But if she's haunting the town." He started, looking back up at her before reading anything in his hands, speaking out loud, "Then she must have died here surely."

Kathy sighed with slight annoyance, "Sam, I looked within every inch of this town for a Mary we need and I've already said it – I found _nothing._ " She gestured to the file, "Just look at the file – see anything familiar?" Using emphasis to get him thinking where she wanted him to go.

Sam finally looked through the documents, but more particularly the few photos she had found looking through the FBI database. They were crime scene photos that starred a young woman laying dead in a pool of blood and there was a mirror standing behind her, a bloody hand mark plastered onto it with the three letters 'Tre' scribbled on with what looked like blood also. Out of everything in the picture, he focused more on the handprint slammed onto the mirror.

"That handprint…" He murmured to himself, but his sister could here it. It looked exactly like the one they had seen on both the Shoemaker's mirror and Jill's. "Alright," He gave in, giving her the benefit of the doubt, especially if this case wasn't near Toledo. "That's more than a coincidence."

Katherine nodded, turning in her seat so her body faced him, "Exactly what I thought." She glanced back at the screen, the case still loaded up on the laptop. "Her name's Mary Worthington, a 19-year-old girl from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The case is an unsolved murder."

Sam's head perked up, "Maybe that's how she's choosing her victims?" He wondered, but the thought had already come to both their heads a while ago. This was just more of a confirmation of the idea. "Both with Jill and Mr. Shoemaker, they each had a secret where someone died. Maybe it's what Mary's killer was – someone with a secret?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too." His sister nodded, leaning back in her chair, her head touching the paned glass window behind her head. "And, there is a lot of folklore out there about mirrors in particular. About how they can reveal all you're lies and secrets – that they're a true reflection of your soul."

"That's why it's bad luck to break them." Sam nodded, following along, "Mary sees a secret and whether it's the person who called her or not – they're the ones who get a visit from her."

"Exactly."

…

Thanks to the case file, it had listed the detective that had actually been in charge of the death of Mary Worthington case, and luckily for them, he didn't actually live far from town. He had moved away after retiring from the force and was now living in a small cabin in the suburban area where lots of trees surrounded him.

"I was on the job for 35 years." The past detective said, slowly walking back into his living room where the siblings were, a mug of coffee in hand. Katherine and Sam had made up the story about being reporters, just two people who loved to write about the loved and lost, the ones whose cases were never completely solved. It was a good cover story, but like any of the others they've made in the past, they needed to be careful while they searched for more information. "A detective for most of that. Now, everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder … that one _still_ gets me."

"If you don't mind me asking-" Katherine started, looking towards the man with interest in her voice. Even though she and Sam had ideas about this dead teenager being connected to the two killings in Toledo, they still needed to know more about this Mary character. Not everything was in the brief FBI file she found. They only had the basics – only the primary detective and the direct police station had that kind of information. Which is the main reason as to why they were here now. "-what exactly happened?"

The man looked between the two, "You kids said you were reporters?" Finding it odd that she was asking about what happened when a reporter would have already known that kind of information. It was probably in a lot of past newspapers for one thing, and it would be on the internet these days too.

Sam stepped in, "We know Mary was 19 and lived by herself." Looking up from the little notepad in his hand. Even though it was a part of the disguise, he did sometimes like to write notes down, ones that he might actually unintentionally forget. He glanced over to his sister, "We know she also won a few local beauty contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana and becoming an actress. And…" Briefly looking down at the notepad, there was also specific case information Kathy could find written on it. "…we know that on the night of March 29th, someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife."

There was a moment of silence before the former detective gave a solemn nod, sighing, "That's right." He confirmed, every piece of information they had was indeed correct.

"When I asked what happened – I meant, we wanted to know what _you_ think happened." Katherine rephrased her question.

The detective looked towards a set of filing cabinets to the side of the room, thinking, wondering if he should really tell these two what he knew. But, because this case was so personal to him, in respect to how it hadn't been solved yet, he gave in, "Technically, I'm not supposed to have a copy of the files I sent in." He stated, walking over to the filing cabinet. After opening one of the draws, he brought out a very large file with thick piles of paper within it. He placed it on the desk in front.

His living room was a combination of many rooms put together – he was never a person who liked to many rooms.

Katherine and Sam shared a look before moving forwards, interested as to what the detective might reveal to them and also what the answers might be to their questions.

"Now…" The man had flipped through the pile before conjuring up a specific photo the Winchesters actually had a copy of. He turned it around so they could see it properly, "See that there? 'T.R.E'" It was the main picture Sam had seen first; the one with Mary lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, the mirror standing behind her with the bloody handprint and letters.

Katherine nodded for the both of them, "Yeah." She wondered what that might have meant, the explanation was one of the things that hadn't been included in the case load she found.

The detective looked between them, staring into their eyes with a look of knowledge, "I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer."

Sam frowned, "Did you know who it was?"

"Not for sure." He shook his head in response, but he had a good idea in mind. "But, there was a local man, a surgeon by the name of Trevor Sampson." He brought out a black and white picture of an older gentleman with a cigar in his hand, a glass of wine being held up, almost as if he was toasting when the photograph had been taken. He was wearing a dark suit and shaded glasses, something very formal. "And I think he cut her up good."

Katherine observed the photo for a second before turning her head back up to question the theory, "What makes you so sure this man could have been the killer?"

"In her diary; Mary mentioned a man she was seeing." He revealed, and Sam wrote everything down as he said it. This was definitely new information they had come across, "She called him by the initial 'T' and in her last diary entry, it mentioned that she was going to tell T's wife about their affair."

"It's a good motive for murder, but why him?" Katherine gestured down to the picture of Trevor Sampson. "How did you come up with the name Trevor Sampson?" It was a good question and inside the detective, he saw a good investigator in her. It's quite a shame she's a reporter instead.

"It's hard to say really." He admitted, there had been quite some time after the murder that he connected this man to Mary. "But … the way her eyes were cut out, it was almost professional, like it had to have been done by someone with medical training."

"You could never prove it, though, could you?" Sam summarized. If this Trevor Sampson had been caught, then this case wouldn't have been left unsolved – the man or whoever did it would have been in jail by now. Mary might not be running around in mirrors either if that happened.

"No." The detective shook his head with a sigh, this was why the case took such a toll on him. He hated himself for not figuring out how to bring the guy down – now poor Mary's death will never be solved, just lost. "There were no prints and no witnesses. He was meticulous."

"Is he still alive?" Katherine wondered.

"Nope." The response came through as the man took a seat at his desk chair. He looked back up at them, the conviction in his eyes, "But, if you ask me … Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy's secret … but she never could."

This had to be the Mary they were looking for – the one that was going around in Toledo killing people because of secrets that people died. It fit, completely. Now they just needed to figure out how to stop Mary before another person recites the name three times into a mirror. Finding Mary Worthington's would be the first step in finishing this.

"Where was she buried?" Sam asked, knowing they needed to salt and burn the bones.

The detective frowned, confused by the strange question but answered anyway, "She wasn't." He replied, shaking his head, "She was cremated."

Katherine held in her groan of frustration at the answer – it's like everyone loved to make their jobs a hundred times more difficult. "What about the mirror?" She countered, pointing towards the photo, "It's not locked up in some evidence lockup somewhere, is it?"

"No." He replied, leaning back in his chair, "It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago." Once the case was deemed unsolved, they were ordered to hand everything back to Mary's family because the evidence wasn't needed anymore.

Sam bit his lip, looking hopeful, "Do you happen to have the names of her family by any chance?" They had to find that mirror and the same thought ran through his sister's head the moment she asked earlier.

…

On the way back to Toledo; Sam was on the phone to a relative of Mary's he could find through the phone book. The detective had been able to give them a couple of names but unfortunately, only one is still alive. Mary's brother; Travis Worthington. While Katherine drove, her brother was inquiring about the mirror that Mary had died in front of, hoping they might be able to have access to it.

"Ah, that's too bad, Mr. Worthington." Sam sighed, cursing in his head at the response he had been given about the whereabouts of the mirror right now. "I would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well, maybe next time … all right, thanks." The man on the other end hung up first but Sam was just a second ahead when he closed his flip phone, pushing in the small antenna connected to his phone. Sometimes he needed to use it, especially when they weren't near very many cell towers. They were actually passing through a large patch of woods on their way back to town.

"Let me guess," Kathy started, her tone sarcastic, glancing over to him for a second with slight irritation, "The brother doesn't have it anymore."

Sam nodded, looking slightly annoyed too, "Yup." He answered, leaning his elbow against the edge of the window, turning his head to her, "The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it … to a store called 'Estate Antiques' … in Toledo Ohio."

"So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes too." She murmured, keeping her eyes on the road. It made sense as to why there hadn't been any more killings until Toledo, the brother, and his family probably kept it somewhere in a storage cupboard collecting dust and they had probably never even thought of the words 'Bloody Mary' for it to be used.

"Her spirit's definitely tied up with it somehow." Sam assumed – it's the only real logical explanation for everything that's happened when it comes to Mary.

Katherine let out a breath, putting on a thoughtful face, "Well, looks like that old superstition stuff about 'mirrors capturing spirits' is true."

"Yeah, looks like." Her brother agreed, "Mary's ghost is trapped in the mirror – she died in front of it and now she's trapped, but there is something I don't get," He glanced over to his sister, his eyebrows furrowing with the need for an answer, "How can she move between like a hundred different mirrors?"

"Now that, I have no freaking idea." Kathy shook her head, confused to but didn't get too caught up in it. "They must be connected somehow with all the reflection stuff. But, what I do know is that the mirror she died in front of is the source of all this." She started coming up with a plan in her head, "Right now we need to find that mirror and smash it."

"Yeah…" Sam mumbled, thinking deeply about it, "Maybe…" It can't just be enough to smash just the main mirror – if Mary can travel through hundreds of others – it might just make her set up station in another mirror, one that they won't be able to track down. And then, she'll just continue with what she's been doing since before they arrived in town.

Suddenly, the shrill of Sam's phone went off in his hand. He didn't look down at it to read who was actually calling, all he did was open it up before placing it against his ear, speaking into the device, "Hello?" And within a few seconds, his facial features shifted into immediate concern, "Charlie?"

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	16. Bloody Mary - Part 3

**I know, I haven't updated 'The Family Business' in soo long. I hope you like the chapter, though, the next episode is SKIN – I loved that episode, along with many others. Oh, and did anyone else hear? Jensen Ackles (Dean) twins were delivered yesterday I think it was, aww!**

 **Be sure to leave a comment for me to read!**

 **Supernatural Fanfic | The Family Business | Bloody Mary – Part 3**

As soon as Charlie told Sam what had happened; the Winchester siblings rushed over to the motel room they were renting for the week, telling the teenager to keep her head down and get there as soon as possible. From what Sam could hear through the sobs of terror over the phone, Donna had said the two words ' _Bloody Mary'_ three times into the bathroom mirror at school. And it wasn't until she looked in her make-up mirror in science class that she saw a terrifying woman standing behind her, one that could only be seen through the reflection.

Currently, Charlie was huddled in a ball on top of Katherine's motel bed, her sweater covering her head while her legs were brought up to her chest. She wasn't taking any chances, her eyes were sealed shut, knowing what could happen to her if she opened her eyes for even just a second. Through the reflections on her way to the motel and at school, she noticed the woman inching just a little closer each time. Her body was shaking lightly with fear, the tears of realization already dried out on her cheeks. Though, the dire terror was still running through her veins.

Sam finished facing down all the picture frames, making sure none of them would give Charlie the chance to see through the reflective glass covering the photo inside. As Katherine continued throwing thin blankets and even some of their clothing over certain things, Sam went back over to the teenager and sat beside her on the bed, "Charlie," He said softly, trying to console the young female, "It's okay, you can open your eyes now."

Very slowly and reluctantly, Charlie began looking up from over her sweater, blinking her eyes a second at a time, almost as if she were testing out her eyesight to see anything. She kept looking down, though, her eyes never leaving the bedspread underneath her. She still didn't want to take any chances that could leave her lying in a pool of her own blood.

"Now listen," Sam continued, raising his voice just a little higher towards a normal tone, "You're gonna stay right here on this bed. You're not gonna look at glass or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And, as long as you do that, she _cannot_ get to you."

Charlie's head leaned towards his voice for a moment, feeling another layer of tears starting to appear again, "But I can't keep that up forever." She said with a terrified tone, swallowing hard afterward. She sniffed, "I'm gonna die," Her voice cracked as a tear made its way down her soiled cheek, "Aren't I?"

"No." Sam immediately said afterward. He wasn't willing to let that happen, and he was sure his sister felt the very same way. "Not anytime soon."

Katherine sighed after making sure every noticeable reflection was covered. She ran a hand through her hair before plopping herself in front of Charlie on the bed, crossing her legs beneath her. She was facing the teenager while Sam stayed to one side of the bed, "All right, Charlie," She began, trying to take on a friendly kind of tone that made someone want to open up, "We need to know what happened." Getting straight to the point of why Mary was after her in the first place.

Charlie misunderstood what Katherine was referring to because she started mentioning what happened to get Mary latched onto her. "Well, we were in the bathroom and Donna said-" Kathy cut her off.

"No Charlie – that's not what I'm talking about." The teenager looked up to the woman, her eyes red from all the crying she's been doing lately. Katherine had a look on her face, one that she could recognize. The siblings wanted to know why Mary was after her of all people. Mr. Shoemaker had a secret that he possibly killed his wife and Jill had killed a young boy because of her car accident. It suddenly made sense to her, and it shook her to the core.

"Something happened, didn't it?" Katherine continued with a comforting tone, "In your life – a secret." She paused, "One where someone died or got hurt." Charlie's head went down to the bedspread again. Sam and Katherine shared a look, knowing they had hit the jackpot. Charlie's actions and reactions were enough to determine that. "Can you tell us about it?"

Charlie was silent for a minute or two before her bottom lip trembled. Instinctively, she brought her sweater closer into her body, almost as if it were a protective cocoon. "I-I had this boyfriend," She started, her voice soft and shaky, "I loved him. But he-he kind of scared me too, you know? And … one night at his house, we got in this fight." Her throat constricted, the memory flashing before her eyes while another set of tears rolled down her cheeks. "I broke up with him, and he got upset – h-he said that he needed me and that he loved me. Just before I started to walk away, he said … ' _Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself_.' And you know what I said? I said ' _Go ahead_.' And then I left."

"How could I say that?" Charlie choked, looking between the siblings with despair in her eyes, "How could I just leave him like that? I just … I didn't believe him; you know? I should have…" Suddenly no words were able to form because it was just too much, she started sobbing, burying her head back into her sweater in order to hide her face in shame.

Neither Sam nor Katherine knew what to say at that point because they knew words of comfort wouldn't reach Charlie – it would be pointless to even try. But what they _could do_ was stop Mary before she takes yet another life from this world, now that, they could fix.

…

It was pitch black outside, the middle of the night when the siblings left Charlie on her own. They were heading towards the shop called ' _Estate Antiques'_ , the place Mary's brother sold the mirror off to. It just sucked that it was on the other side of town, but luckily it wasn't a few states over. Hard patters of raindrops continuously hit the impala's shell and it made a small echo inside the car while the siblings chatted about the current case.

"A boyfriend killing himself is a real stretch from the last two victims," Katherine noted, shaking her head as she drove. "It's not even remotely Charlie's fault either." She could tell that Charlie wasn't lying throughout her story – it was the truth and from what she could see, there had been a lot of guilt bottled up since it happened.

Sam sighed understandingly but knew why this was happening to Charlie. "Kath, you know as well as I do that spirits only see black and white, there are no shades of gray." His facial features and body language remained passive and unattached, he had been in clear thinking mode ever since they left the motel room. There was a plan ringing in his head, but, he just didn't know how well his sister would react to it given the type of person she was. "Charlie had a secret where someone died, and obviously, that's all that Mary needs."

Katherine just hummed with a nod and kept her eyes on the road.

Everything turned silent.

"You know, I've been thinking." Sam broke the silence again, keeping his eyes straight forward so he didn't have to see how his sister might react physically. "It … might not be enough to just smash that mirror."

Katherine's eyebrows creased, her head glancing over at him with a question, "What do you mean?" Trying to figure out where he was coming from.

Reluctantly, he glanced over to her, "Well, Mary's hard to pin down, isn't she? She has this ability to move around in different mirrors, so, who's to say she jumps to another mirror after we've smashed this one? Then we'd have no idea how to get her and Charlie would be dead the next time she stares into a reflection. So maybe we should … try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it?" The last part of his sentence had come out a little faster than the rest.

A silent pause resonated throughout the car and all that could be heard was the drops of rain hitting the car.

"Okay, that could work I mean, it makes sense anyway." She thought it over, and it did sound like a good, logical plan but there was just one thing keeping her from giving it a one-hundred percent approval rate. "But to be clear … you better not be thinking what I think your thinking." Narrowing her eyes over to him for just a second, now understanding why he was trying not to look over to her as much as possible. He was even doing it now; his head turned back towards his side window again to avoid her gaze.

"Kath-"

"No." Katherine grounded her voice in a stern manner. "You're about to tell me that you're going to be the one to summon this eyeball-snatching bitch … aren't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing, Sam." The elder Winchester didn't let her little brother get another word in because she wasn't about to let him sign his possible death sentence. She knew why he was offering in the first place, it was an easy guess.

"She'll come after _me_ , Katherine!" Sam added a small snap in his voice, his head turning towards her with an undeniable blaze in his eyes. There was also guilt surrounding it too. "I know she will."

Katherine stayed silent for a moment but an audible scoff came out of her mouth the same time as her head shook from side to side. She was beginning to look extremely pissed off. "You know what?" She said, "That's it." The emotion leaking into her voice as something inside of her snapped. She twisted the steering wheel sharply to the side and the tires skid against the inches of rain under the tires. It was still pouring rain outside like buckets were being chucked down from the sky, one after another. Sam had to hold onto the car as she skidded off the road to a stop.

The car stayed silent as other cars passed them on the road – the impala was put into its parking gear with the engine turned off.

Katherine took a moment to cool herself before she shifted in her seat, her body twisted towards the younger brother who refused to look her in the eye. "This is about Jessica … isn't it?" She assumed correctly – she knew that girl had been on his mind ever since they left the University.

All she received was silence and the patter of raindrops against the window behind their breathing.

"You think that's the dirty little secret Mary's gonna come after you for?" Katherine kept talking, wanting to get her brother shifted straight this time because it was starting to hurt that he wasn't seeing the big picture. "That somehow _you_ killed Jessica?" And again, she received nothing, just a few eye blinks and a whole lot of frustrating silence.

"Sammy, come on," She finally sighed, shaking her head after a momentary glance out into the distance in front, "This has got to stop, man." She pleaded lightly and the tone of her voice was enough for Sam's head to turn a little more towards her, "Every night you have nightmares, every night you're calling out her name and Sam … seriously, all of this will kill you, trust me on that."

"Now, listen to me." Katherine brought back her older sister voice, " _It wasn't your fault_!" She said every word with a hard meaning, "If you want to blame someone – blame the thing that killed her." She shrugged helplessly and there was a clear concern in her tone, "Or better yet, take a swing at ME since _I'm_ the one who dragged you away from her in the first place!"

Finally, Sam turned to his sister, "I don't blame you." He said immediately with truth to his words. He could see where she was coming from and in some ways, he always could. But somehow, he just knew that this was something he had to do for himself – somehow he knew this would become some sort of closure for him. He didn't know how – but he just knew.

Katherine felt a small amount of achievement when he spoke back to her. "Then you shouldn't blame yourself either." She countered, "There was _no way_ you could have known the demon would come after her and even if you did, I really doubt there was anything you could have done."

That big weight of guilt deepened on Sam's shoulders, "I could have warned her." Forgetting that his sister didn't know his horrible secret.

"About what?!" Now she really wasn't understanding where he was coming from, "You didn't know it was going to happen!" Her voice started to rise again, "And, besides, all of this isn't a secret anyway because _I_ know all about it."

Sam started shaking his head, denying her words, "No, you don't." He retorted in a low voice, turning his head away again guiltily.

Katherine stopped for a moment to just stare at her brother – his head was looking straight forwards and that passive posture returned to his body. Her brows furrowed while her eyes narrowed, "I don't what?"

Sam twisted his head towards her direction but didn't look towards her face. It was hard enough as it was to lie to her but this was something he just had to keep to himself – at least for a little longer. "You don't know _all_ about it." He explained a little less vaguely, but there still wasn't much for her to work with. "I haven't told you about everything."

"Sam … what are you talking about?" Katherine's voice started taking a cautious yet concerned turn, not sure where this was heading. What else could Sam be hiding that she didn't already know about with Jessica's death?

Sam just tried to play it off by trying to make the atmosphere feel a little less tense. He quirked his lips, almost as if he were about to make a joke in light of the situation, "Well, then it wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you, would it?"

Katherine had to bite her lip from saying something she might regret because the fact that she also had a secret came back to bite her. It would be completely hypocritical to order him to tell her what it was since she had blatantly said she wouldn't reveal her own to him a couple of months ago. Unconsciously, her secret started making her mind wander to places she wanted to lock up forever and forget about.

It wasn't until her brother's voice started speaking again that she came back to reality.

"If we don't so something, that girl back there is going to die and so are a lot of others if this isn't done tonight." He paused. "Kath, let me do this," Sam asked with his eyes staring back at her this time – they were begging for her approval. She blinked, staring at him as he continued, "I _need_ to do this."

…

The sound of a lock coming undone sounded as Sam finished picking it. They were standing outside the antique shop Mary's brother told them the mirror was now being sold from. Katherine pushed the door open as quietly as she could by going in first, her brother following close behind. The place was dark and so was outside still. It was close to one in the morning at this time. There were a few lights on inside but they were only coming from several different lamp shades dotted about the place.

The antique store had this airy feeling and to be honest, it looked a little creepy too. Just from one glance, there were so many old pieces of furniture and just odd pieces of art around the place that it felt more like a weird museum. It didn't help that most of the items placed around the store were mirrors and there were probably more than a hundred of them.

The sound of thunder rumbled from outside but luckily the rain was starting to slow to a stop.

Sam held up his torch the moment his sister did when they took in what kind of place they were currently standing in. "Well," Katherine started, looking at the mirrors with annoyance, "This is just great." Her words obviously sarcastic because it was not a pleasurable sight. She wanted to be in and out, quickly – and she wanted this case to be over and her brother away from this 'Bloody Mary' thing. _Reluctantly_ , she was letting him summon Mary but she was going to make sure she's with him the whole time to stop anything from happening to him.

Katherine pulled out the photograph she printed off earlier that showed the mirror connected to Mary's crime scene. She held it under her brother's torch for him to get a good look at it. They were looking for a specifically old one with a unique design around the border. If it hadn't started off the Bloody Mary legend – she'd have thought it was a decent looking mirror.

"All right, let's start looking." She prompted him to go towards the left side of the store while she decided to go to the right. Katherine lingered at the entrance for a moment to double check the mirrors that they arrived to in the first place, but none of the fit the bill for what they were looking for.

As the Winchester siblings slowly walked through the building with sharp observational eyes – they never realized that there had been a motion censored alarm being silently set off in their wake. The police were being sent notifications that a B&E was in progress at 501 Front Street.

A little red blinking light never caught within the sibling's line of sight.

…

Only a couple of minutes had passed by the time Katherine stated out loud, "Maybe they've already sold it?" She reasoned after not being able to find it. But, to be fair, there were A LOT of mirrors in this place – way too many if you ask her. She was in the middle of doing a second sweep around her area of the store while making her way towards her brother.

In another part, Sam suddenly stopped in one of the corners to see something catching his eye. A certain tall-standing mirror with an old decorative border sitting on a chair. "Uh, no…" Sam shook his head, keeping his eyes on the object, "I don't think so." He was sure this was the mirror they were looking for – he just needed Katherine to bring the photo over so they could double check.

Katherine approached from behind, shining her torch towards where her brother was looking. He was standing before the certain mirror they were searching for. She brought the photo out again from her jacket, shining her own source of light against it this time. After looking between the two a few times – she accepted that this was the mirror they were looking for.

"That's it." She nodded, approving the likeness before shoving the photo back into her pocket. With a deep breath, her head turned towards Sam with a look. "Now, are you _absolutely_ sure about this?" She questioned, silently hoping he'll back out at let her do it. She had tried to put herself in for the bait but her brother was adamant about the fact that _he_ needed to be the one to do this. So reluctantly, she accepted, but it wasn't without protest.

Sam stayed silent and just passed her the torch he was holding – he did send her a look that told her he would be fine. His sister hesitated a moment but finally took the object from him, taking a step back as he took one forwards. The mirror was now just a foot or two away from where he was standing.

Sam took a deep breath, silently glad that his sister moved just a little closer to him from the side. He knew this was hard for her because all his life, she's never liked putting him in the line of fire – and this was exactly what he was doing. The thing she hated the most was his stubbornness. They were very alike in that sense.

"Bloody Mary." Sam Winchester couldn't help but feel not only nervous, but even a touch scared – not that he'd say that out loud of course at this moment in time. It wasn't the hunting itself really, but mostly the unknowing of what will happen after he says 'Bloody Mary' three times into this mirror.

He swallowed before continuing.

"Bloody Mary." After glancing over to his sister just once, he raised the crowbar he had originally retrieved from the trunk of the Impala. The light from the different lamps around the place bounced off the different mirrors so it created a small shine against his face. He took one last breath. He braced himself for what was to come, "Bloody Mary."

Suddenly, a flash of light passed throughout the room and the source of it came from outside the store windows. "Dammit." Katherine cursed, having a feeling what might be parking in front of the store. She didn't want to leave her brother alone but knew what she must do in order to prevent anyone from coming in and get in danger. She turned to Sam, "I'll go check that out." She sent him a look, "Be careful and smash _anything_ that moves."

Sam didn't say anything but nodded in acknowledgment, tightening the grip around the crowbar in his hands and raising it a little higher. He heard his sister start moving away from him and towards the front of the store, leaving him alone in the middle of a dozen or so different mirrors.

Katherine made sure to keep low, holding her own crowbar to the side as she observed what she could see from behind a piece of furniture. She almost groaned out loud when she noticed what she assumed before – it was a police car sitting outside with its lights on still. "You have gotta be kidding me." She mumbled to herself, wishing they could just get a bit of good luck some point soon.

A small and stupid plan started to form in her head. Knowing she couldn't bring the crowbar with her, she slid it into a nook next to her, hidden away. Letting out a deep sigh, she stood up from the original crouch her body had been situated in before moving towards the front door – about to confront people she didn't particularly like.

Cops.

…

At the back of the store; Sam was waiting uneasily for something to happen and soon enough, it was like he could feel a presence surrounding him from over a dozen sides. His head was snapping side to side, looking from mirror to mirror in order to see something that would resemble the woman that Charlie had described back in the Motel.

…

"Hold it!" A cop yelled the moment Katherine took a step out of the antique shop with her hands raising slightly above her head. She put on a face that resembled an innocent person completely surprised to see them there. There were two guns pointed towards in the hands of two male cops holding them.

"Woah!" Kathy chuckled nervously, holding her hands up in surrender, putting on a fake façade. She glanced between the two, observing them critically because she was sure some punches were going to be needed. There was only a limited time she could stay out here – there was no way she was going to leave her brother alone for too long. "Hold on, guys!" She continued, "It's just a false alarm – I accidently tripped the silent alarm and forgot to turn it off." That's most likely why they were here in the first place. There was literally no one around to report them breaking in at this time of night.

Both cops looked a bit pudgy in weight and neither seemed very accommodating for false words. Their eyes were narrowed suspiciously towards her and neither looked as thought they believed her.

"Who are you?" The one to the left demanded. The sounds from a police radio could be heard lightly in the background.

Katherine let her hands fall to her side, not feeling threatened by the guns pointed towards her, even though she really should be. "I'm the bosses' daughter." She lied. ' _That probably would have been more believable if I said I was a distant niece or something.'_ She idly thought to herself.

The right cop raised his gun a little higher, "You're Mr. Yamashiro's kid?" He questioned, obviously not believing her statement.

Katherine couldn't help it, her brows raised with the odd-sounding name and then her lips formed a frown – that's a Japanese name, isn't it? Now, she definitely didn't look Japanese. She's just put herself into quite the pickle.

Maybe she should have mentioned she's adopted too?

…

 _SMASH … SMASH … SMASH._

Sam had driven the crowbar through most of the mirrors surrounding him and now they were all gone, barring one in front of him. Thousands of glass shards shattered against the ground, looking like sparkles on the wood flooring. There was only one mirror left within the nearest vicinity for Mary to see him through. He doubted she'd use any that are furthest away from him, it would be pointless.

"Come on," Sam muttered to himself, breathing heavily, both from the exhaustion from breaking so many mirrors but also in anticipation. He had no idea what to expect, to be honest. He just hoped he would succeed quickly and finish the job he really wanted to be finished by now. "Come into this one." He was standing in front of the single mirror left, the one Mary had died in front of all those years ago.

He had been waiting for a woman with long dark hair, looking somewhat like the grudge woman from that movie series, but what he got instead was himself staring back at him, smirking. Sam furrowed a brow as he stared into the mirror, seeing his own reflection take on a completely different personality, moving as he didn't follow.

His own reflection had come to life and was staring at him with such … hatred.

The reflection started lowering his crowbar as a sudden pain started flowing through Sam's chest. He let out a low gasp, feeling a heaviness in his chest and his head starting to feel as if it would explode. Thick purple veins crawled up his skin and towards the top of his head, and blood tears started dripping down from the inner corners of his eyes sockets. The crowbar dropped from his hands, feeling his body no longer cooperating with the functional part of his brain.

Sam could only watch helplessly as his reflection started talking.

" _It's your fault."_ The reflection spoke, his appearance mirroring Sam's but didn't feel the same thing. He was watching as the real Sam started falling to the ground in pain. He looked with something between glee and anger. _"You killed her."_

Sam didn't even have to think about what the reflection meant, he knew exactly who was being talked about.

Jess.

" _You killed Jessica."_

…

Katherine let out a small chuckle, "I've already told you guys," She said again, but her patience was wearing on thin ice. She's been away from her brother a lot longer than she wanted, and she didn't have a good feeling to go with it. "I was adopted."

The two police officers let out their own chuckles, but she could tell that they didn't believe her still. They subtlety, but not so subtlety, stood either side of her, and she knew they were about to take her down or at least arrest her for breaking and entering. "Yeah?" One of them said, giving a small nod as his hand reached behind for something that's in his back pocket.

When Katherine noticed this, her eyes flicked down to the movement. "You know, I really didn't wanna have to do this." She started speaking again, shaking her head as if she was going to regret what she was about to do. She didn't particularly like cops too much, but she tried to avoid what she was about to do, just in case she was reported afterward. "But I really can't hang around with you guys anymore."

Before the men could even react, both felt a fist punch into their faces, directly on the nose. They were loud, and sounded very painful, especially as the reactions poured out of the cop's mouth. Katherine didn't hold back, knowing she had to only knock them out but still needed to do it as quickly as possible. These two were probably just surprised enough to not punch back.

They were out within less than ten seconds.

"Well, that's just embarrassing," Katherine commented on with amusement playing in her voice, looking between the two fully grown men she had just knocked out. "Getting knocked out by a woman should be their worst nightmare."

...

" _You never told her the truth,"_ The reflection was still talking Sam down as the pain greatly increased throughout his entire body, but mostly just his head. More blood was dripping down from the corners of his eyes and it was coming down almost like a stream. _"Who you really were."_

It felt like Sam couldn't breathe and as much as he tried to hold on, black spots started to appear in his vision.

He prayed Katherine would come back any seconds now because there was no way he could get himself out of this one. He needed help.

" _But it's more than that, isn't it?"_ The reflection tilted its head at him, _"Those nightmares you've been having of Jessica dying, screaming, BURNING … you had them for days before she died. Didn't you?!"_ The reflection was almost like his subconscious had come to life but in a more terrifying and deadly way. " _You were so desperate to be normal, to believe they were_ _ **just**_ _dreams. How could you just ignore them like that?"_ He demanded, _"How could you leave her alone to die?"_

" _You dreamt it would happen!"_

Suddenly, the mirror shattered in front of Sam and the weight that had been previously crushing against his chest started to lift off him. He gasped for breath, feeling the ability to control his body come back to him. He instinctively ducked his head to avoid getting glass particles in his eyes. He was coughing his breath back when he felt someone kneeling beside him in a rush, grabbing his face to lift it up to their eye level.

It was Katherine.

"Sammy, Sammy!" She had been calling to him, getting him to focus on her, patting him on the face as his eyes took a few seconds to fully adjust again. Katherine was staring at him with fear riddling in her eyes when she saw the way he looked.

"It's Sam." He retorted with a tired voice, but sounded okay as far as his sister could tell, thankfully.

Katherine let out a breath, knowing he was better after the fact that he had just corrected her as usual – by insisting that she call him Sam, not Sammy. She didn't smile, though, she was still worried about his health. "God, are you okay?" Looking at the streams of wet stained blood that had dripped down from his eyes.

Sam let out a small groan because there were parts of his body that were still pounding from the experience he had just received from Mary. "Uh, yeah, I think so." He replied, wanting to just go to sleep for multiple hours right now.

"Alright, we're getting out of here." Katherine insisted, thinking it was all over now that she had shattered the mirror Mary had been trapped in. The one the spirit had died in front of when she was still human. She put her brother's arm around her shoulder and started heaving his heavy body up. "Come on, work with me here." Sam carried most of his own weight but Katherine had to take some of it off his feet, so he was leaning against her body as they started walking away from the scene of the crime.

Behind them, an unexpected surprise emerged from the mirror in a physical form.

Mary.

At the sound of something moving behind them, the Winchester siblings slowed to a halt. They knew there was something behind them. Slowly turning around in their spot, they witnessed Mary standing up from a previous crawl. They didn't even have any time to react because the previous feeling Sam had been accustomed to came back to him, but also to Katherine this time too. New lines of blood started dripping down both their eyes, a heavy weight pulsing against their chest, limiting their ability to properly breath.

Mary started moving closer to them, her body shifting between different speeds as she did. Her face was never shown as her long black hair prevented that, draping downwards like a waterfall, and her clothing was a ragged one-piece cloth. Both Katherine and Sam tumbled to the ground near enough at the same time, groaning in pain.

The sister had a plan forming in her head as something came into view.

She just hoped it would work.

Katherine reached for the medium sized mirror standing on the floor next to her body and even though it was physically more painful, she grabbed it and held up towards Mary's line of sight. It was almost immediately that she felt the pain start to lessen just as Mary stopped in her spot.

Mary was staring at the mirror Katherine was holding up as high as she could. Slowly, her head started to lift as a reflection of herself appeared before her, making its own actions come to life.

" _You killed them!"_ A growling voice echoed from the mirror as blood started dripping from Mary's own black eyes. A hacking sound started replacing her breathing as the words continued, _"All those people – you killed them."_ The last sound that came out of the mirror was a hissing tone as Mary started to die in front of the Winchesters. She was going out of this world the same way her victims had.

The last thing they saw of Mary was her body starting to melt like butter. Every part of her slipped down to the ground as it made a puddle and everything of her just slowly disappeared into nothing, ending the real Bloody Mary legend in this town.

As a last measure, Katherine threw the mirror she had been holding far away from her, shattering it against the floor just as the others had been. She wasn't taking the chance that Mary could become trapped in that one too. She was done with this Bloody Mary legend for one lifetime.

Any power that Mary had over their bodies started to quickly fade away again. It left them in a little pain, but it was manageable.

Katherine looked around the place, only now just realizing something that may come back any bite them in the ass. If the superstition was true, of course. She let out a short laugh, believing in the bad luck they already had was enough. She probably looked crazy given everything they had just gone through.

Sam turned to his sister with a painful strain on his neck. His body had taken a bigger beating than hers did, "Why are you laughing?" He questioned, his brows furrowing in confusion, wondering if she had lost her mind during the attack.

"I've just realized something," She said back to him, never losing that smile that said she couldn't believe what was happening, "With all these mirrors we've broken – that's gotta be like, 600 years' bad luck right there."

After thinking about it; Sam couldn't help but let out a small chuckle in response, seeing what she meant.

"Oops."

…

After having a long uninterrupted nap with Charlie staying with them for the night, all three of them were back in the Impala, driving towards the teenager's house. It was early in the morning so the sun was near enough shining from above with the morning sunlight. As they approached the house the teenager had directed them to, Katherine pulled up to the curb and put the car into its parking gear.

As the car stopped, Charlie glanced over to her house.

"So, this is really over?" She spoke out loud, still slightly unable to believe what had happened over a short period. Part of her just couldn't believe she was going to be killed by _Bloody Mary_. It was just so … supernatural and surreal. And that scared her.

Katherine looked over to the back seats where Charlie was sitting, "Yeah," She nodded, confirming the thoughts, "It's all over." There hadn't been much talking last night after what had happened. Everyone had mostly been silent, apart from the fact that they had told Charlie that she could rest easy now, everything had been taken care of. Katherine and Sam were basically feeling a hundred percent now, anything they had felt from Mary's doing had long since passed.

Charlie glanced between the two siblings, her eyes filled with gratitude, "Thank you." She told them, so thankful to have met them when she did and followed everything they wanted of her. If she hadn't, she'd be dead by now, and that's something she never wanted to experience anytime soon.

Katherine sent her a nod of acknowledgment but Sam stayed looking forwards, almost as if he were thinking about something to say before anything was said.

After sending them one last smile, Charlie started getting out of the car, slinging her small bag over a shoulder. Closing the door, she had just started walking up the driveway of her house when she heard Sam calling her from behind.

"Charlie?"

Charlie turned around in her spot, a little confused but answered to the call to her name anyway.

Sam was smiling at her a little with wisdom in his eyes, "Your boyfriend's death, it wasn't your fault." He knew that was something the teenager needed to hear, especially given the fact that she was carrying around the full weight of it. "You really should try to forgive yourself because no matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it." He paused, thinking about how much his own words were turning towards himself, "Sometimes bad things just happen."

Charlie could feel her eyes starting to usher up with tears but she smiled nonetheless. What Sam was saying seemed to be the exact thing she needed to hear after all this. She sent the older man a sad smile before turning away again, slowly walking towards the door of her home.

As Sam talked, his sister had been looking at him curiously. She gave him a pat on his back, getting him to turn towards her. "That's actually pretty good advice." She complimented, getting the smile she loved to see on her brother's face to appear. Shaking her head, she turned back around to the steering wheel, putting the car back into drive.

…

As they drove through town; Katherine glanced at her brother with a question running through her mind that's been bugging her since last night. "Hey, Sam." She gathered his attention.

Sam looked over to her, "Yeah?"

"Now that this is all over," She started, wondering briefly if he'll actually answer the question or not. "Are you going to tell me what that secret was?" She wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't, since she was keeping several of her own as it was, and he knew that very well.

 _No_. Was the short answer Sam wanted to reply with because he didn't want to burden his sister with everything the secret contained but replied with a better answer that she'll probably find more amusing than anything.

"Look, you're my sister, and I love you, I'd die for you even," He turned to her, giving a small smile as he talked, "But there are some things I need to keep to myself." Saying almost the exact replica of what she had said to him back when they were on the Sophie Carlton case. When he had asked the personal question on the way she reacted to how she spoke with Lucas.

A quirk of a grin did lift on her lips, "Copycat." She murmured to herself, remembering having said something along those lines a while ago. Keeping her eyes forwards, she started listening to the rock music booming out of the car stereo while thinking about things.

Satisfied he hadn't hurt his sister's feelings, Sam looked outside his window as the scenery went by. He was about to look away from the direction when something familiar caught his sight – a familiar someone.

Jessica.

Her long blonde hair flowed in the wind and her features were as sharp and tanned as he remembered them. She wore a silky long, white dress that reached to the bottom of her toes. She looked like an angel. Sam had to blink several times to really believe he wasn't just seeing things, but as they drove past a tree post for just one second, he was dismayed to see that she had disappeared out of thin air.

Sam suddenly felt confused but at the same time, there was almost as if something had lifted off his chest.

He felt … okay.

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